High softness, high durability bath tissue incorporating high lignin eucalyptus fiber

ABSTRACT

A cellulosic tissue includes cellulosic fibers selected from the group consisting of chemically pulped fibers and mechanically pulped fibers, the cellulosic fibers have from about 10% to about 50% by weight eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% by weight, and from about 3% to about 10% by weight regenerated cellulosic microfibers.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This non-provisional patent application is based upon U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/574,200, of the same title, filed on Jul. 28,2011, the priority of which is hereby claimed and the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Bath tissue must reconcile several competing imperatives. It must besoft and strong. It must absolutely be flushable and protect the user'shands. And, it has to be effective at cleaning. Bath tissue is primarilyused for dry cleaning. To further complicate matters, economy grades ofbath tissue that are made incorporating large amounts of recycle fiberare typically “grayer”—less bright—than tissue made using kraft fibers.Kraft fibers, however, are relatively expensive, as the yield from thekraft pulping process is quite low. This invention relates to a tissuethat approaches the softness and brightness of bath tissues that aremade entirely from kraft fiber, but incorporating large amounts of ahigh yield fiber, broadly described as alkaline peroxide mechanicallypulped eucalyptus, and, in preferred embodiments, more specifically, aspre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.To avoid repeating this long and cumbersome phrase excessively, we referto both the broader class of alkaline pulped eucalyptus fibers and thenarrower, pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanically pulped eucalyptus fibers, as APMP eucalyptus. We have alsofound that we can substitute a controlled coarseness APMP eucalyptusinto wet strength bath tissues as a replacement for eucalyptus kraft andobtain excellent softness, wet strength, lint resistance and wet lintresistance with very small amounts of cellulose microfiber (CMF).Surprisingly, we have also found that eucalyptus APMP can beincorporated to good effect into tissue that is intended to be used dry.

BACKGROUND

By including alkaline peroxide mechanically pulped (APMP) eucalyptusfiber and small amounts of cellulosic microfiber into a web, we havefound that we can obtain excellent results, even when using conventionalwet press (CWP) technology. We have further discovered that the APMPeucalyptus fiber is an excellent substitute for conventional eucalyptuskraft fiber in conventional bath tissue, imparting surprising softness,increased opacity, bulk, absorbency and reduced strength, even to tissuemade with recycle furnishes.

One early pre-wettable tissue was disclosed in Bhat et al., “PrewettableHigh Softness Paper Product Having Temporary Wet Strength”, U.S. Pat.No. 5,958,187, issued Sep. 28, 1999, relating to a paper product with aglabrous surface and adapted for use either dry or for use in a manuallypre-moistened condition. The paper product had temporary wet strengthexhibiting an initial normalized cross-machine direction (CD) wettensile strength of at least about 25 g/l in. strip, preferably, 35 g/lin. strip as measured by the Finch Cup Test 5 seconds after immersionand a subsequent CD wet tensile strength of less than about two-thirdsthe initial value as measured 30 minutes after immersion. Temporary wetstrength was provided by the addition to the furnish of an aldehydictemporary wet strength agent in the range of from about 2 pounds per tonto about 30 pounds per ton. The furnish also included a cationicnitrogenous softener/debonder in an amount of from about 1 pound per tonto about 6 pounds per ton. The CD dry tensile strength of the paperproduct was from about 133 g/l in. strip up to about 267 g/l in. strip,and the tensile modulus was from about 10 to about 32 g/% strain, whilethe geometric mean friction deviation value (GM MMD) was from about 0.26to about 0.10. The CD wet strength of the product decayed to about 15g/l in. strip within 10 hours after immersion. When rubbed against askin-like surface in a moistened condition, the paper product remainedsubstantially free of pilling. Significantly, in Bhat et al., the wetabrasion resistance of a 2″ by 4.5″ sample of tissue was measured undera load of 135 grams against a wetted pigskin and visual observation wasmade to determine whether the sample left pills, shreds or lint behind.

Another early pre-wettable tissue was disclosed in Van Luu et al. [sic,Luu et al.], “Prewettable High Softness Paper Product Having TemporaryWet Strength”, U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,928, issued May 9, 2000, in which atemporary wet strength agent comprising uncharged chemical moieties suchas aldehydes, and aldehyde containing polymers, polyols and cyclic ureasor mixtures thereof in the range of from about 2 pounds per ton to about30 pounds per ton is added to the web to provide the temporary wetstrength. In this application, glyoxal was preferably sprayed on thesheet after it left the Yankee dryer.

Canadian Patent Application No. 2,095,554 in the name of William D.Lloyd, published Aug. 6, 1994, discloses hardwood bleachedchemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP) fibers at amounts of about 5 weightpercent or greater, which provide a soft tissue useful for use as facialor bath tissue, but fails to disclose the degree of bleaching andchemical refining applied to his fibers and is devoid of informationconcerning the brightness, lignin content or Kappa number of his fibers,other than to state that the fibers contain “substantial amounts oflignin” and that the pulping yield is “about 90% or greater”. Lloyd alsostates that “it is not necessary to bury the BCTMP fibers in the middleof the tissue sheet by layering. Instead, the tissue sheets can beblended using a mixture of hardwood BCTMP fibers (for softness) andlonger softwood fibers (for strength). If a layered tissue is preferred,the hardwood BCTMP fibers can be utilized in the outer layer(s).”

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Three-ply, conventional wet press (CWP), wet-durable bath tissueprototypes of the present invention were softer than Ultra StrongCharmin® bath tissue, while being up to 90% more durable with up to 96%less wet lint. Contributors to these results include stratification ofsoftwood and/or cellulose microfiber (CMF) in the Yankee layer,concentration of temporary wet strength in the Yankee layer, anddebonding of the air layer. Integrated fiber, such as eucalyptus APMP orsouthern furnish away from the outer surface, offsets the cost ofcellulose microfiber (CMF) and premium furnish.

Results suggest that a three-ply format like Quilted Northern UltraPlush® could deliver a tissue with high softness, good durability, andlow lint, using only wood pulp in the furnish. CMF and fiberre-orienting belt creping technology, and glue lamination, improve theresults.

We have found that we can achieve this desirable combination ofproperties in a two- or a three-ply sheet formed from cellulosicbasesheet, the multi-ply sheet having a basis weight of from about 15 toabout 35 lbs comprising from about 3% to about 30% cellulosicmicrofiber, from about 70% to about 90% wood pulp fibers, with ageometric mean (GM) dry tensile of from about 35 to 80 g/3 in. per poundof basis weight, a CD dry tensile of between about 30 to about 60 g/3in. per pound of basis weight, sufficient wet strength resin to providea CD wet tensile of from about 8.5 to about 20 g/3 in. per pound ofbasis weight, and a caliper of at least 4 mils per 8 sheets per pound ofbasis weight. Preferably, such a multi-ply tissue will have an opacityof at least about 2.5 Macbeth Opacity Units per pound of basis weight.More preferably, the basis weight will be between 22 and 37 lbs per 3000sq ft ream. Upon testing for dry lint, as referenced herein, sheets ofthe present invention will exhibit a ΔL* of less than about 5. “L*” asused in this connection relates to International Commission onIllumination (CIE) 1976, also known as CIELAB measurement of lightness,and should not be confused with Hunter lightness typically denominated“L”. In this connection, the asterisk “*” is not a reference markdirecting the reader to some other location in this document, but is aportion of the commonly used symbol for CIE 1976 lightness “L*”. Whentested for wet lint as set forth herein, sheets of the present inventionwill exhibit a wet abraded lint area of less than about 40 mm².Alternatively, when tested as set forth herein, resistance to wetlinting will be represented by the number of fibers that are removedhaving a length of greater than 350 μm, with products of the inventionsuffering a loss of less than 2500 fibers having a length of greaterthan 350 μm.

Another aspect of this invention relates to a roll of bath tissuecomprising cellulosic fibers selected from the group consisting ofchemically pulped fibers and mechanically pulped fibers, not more than30% by weight of the tissue being chemically pulped softwood fibers, andfrom about 10 to about 50% by weight of eucalyptus fibers having alignin content of at least about 20% by weight, wherein the eucalyptusfiber has been prepared from eucalyptus chips by pre-conditioningrefiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping, and from about 3to about 10% by weight of regenerated cellulosic microfiber, and thetissue exhibits a machine direction (MD) stretch of between about 20 and30%.

Still another aspect of this invention relates to a three-ply bathtissue product having an upper stratified ply comprising two strata, anouter stratum and an inner stratum, the outer stratum comprising a blendof at least about 30% to about 70% kraft fiber and at least 30% to about70% by weight of eucalyptus kraft and having a basis weight of at leastabout 5 to about 12 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, the inner stratumcomprising at least about 50% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin contentof at least about 20% by weight, and a basis weight of at least about2.0 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, an interior ply having a basis weight of atleast about 6 to about 15 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, comprising at leastabout 30% to about 70% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of atleast about 20% by weight, and from at least about 30% to about 70% byweight of bleached softwood kraft fibers, and a lower stratified plycomprising two strata, a first stratum and a second stratum, the firststratum comprising from at least about 30% to about 70% kraft fiber andfrom about 30% to about 70% by weight of eucalyptus kraft and having abasis weight of about 5 to about 12 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, the secondstratum comprising at least about 50% eucalyptus fibers having a lignincontent of at least about 20% by weight and a basis weight of at leastabout 2.0 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream. Preferably, the interior ply and theupper ply have been joined by being embossed together, the fibrouscomposition of the upper stratified ply is substantially the same as thefibrous composition of the lower stratified ply, the depth of emboss ofthe lower stratified ply is less than 80%, more preferably, less than50%, of the depth of emboss of the upper stratified ply, while the lowerstratified ply is generally unembossed, the outer stratum of the upperply further comprises at least about 5%, more preferably, at least about8%, still more preferably, from about 15 to 35%, by weight ofindividualized regenerated cellulosic microfiber having a diameter of nomore than about 5 microns, more preferably, having an average diameterof no more than about 4 microns, still more preferably, no more thanabout 2 microns, most preferably, no more than about 1 micron, andpassing a screen of about 14 mesh, more preferably, having a numberaverage length of between about 50 microns and 2000 microns. Preferably,each of the inner stratum of the upper ply and the second stratum of thelower ply comprises at least about 70% eucalyptus fibers having a lignincontent of at least about 20% by weight, while the interior ply isheavily creped, exhibiting a bulk at least 3% greater than that of theexterior plies, this increased bulk usually resulting from both the useof APMP eucalyptus and increased crepe in the middle ply.

An especially preferred embodiment of the present invention is athree-ply bath tissue product having an upper stratified ply comprisingtwo strata, an outer stratum and an inner stratum, the outer stratumcomprising a blend of at least about 30% to about 70% kraft fiber and atleast 30% to about 70% by weight of eucalyptus kraft and at least about5% by weight of individualized regenerated cellulosic microfiber havingan average diameter of no more than about 4 microns and an averagelength of between about 50 microns and 2000 microns, the outer stratumhaving a basis weight of at least about 5 to about 12 lbs per 3000 sq ftream, the inner stratum comprising at least about 70% eucalyptus fibershaving a lignin content of at least about 20% by weight, and a basisweight of at least about 2.0 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, a homogeneousinterior ply having a basis weight of at least about 6 to about 15 lbsper 3000 sq ft ream, comprising at least about 40% to about 90%eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% byweight, and from at least about 10% to about 60% by weight of bleachedkraft fiber, and a lower stratified ply comprising two strata, a firststratum and a second stratum, the first stratum comprising from at leastabout 30% to about 70% kraft fiber and from about 30% to about 70% byweight of eucalyptus kraft and having a basis weight of about 5 to about12 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, the second stratum comprising at least about70% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% byweight and a basis weight of at least about 2.0 lbs per 3000 sq ft reamand the upper stratified ply and the lower stratified ply havesubstantially identical fibrous compositions.

Preferred tissues of the present invention containing both APMP and CMFwill exhibit an International Organization for Standardization (ISO)brightness of the upper ply (facing to the exterior of the roll) of atleast:0.82×(%VCP)+0.795×(%RF)^(0.98)+0.84×(%APMP+CFM),where % VCP is the percentage of virgin chemical pulp in the sheet, %RF, the percentage of recycle fiber and % APMP+CMF is the percentage ofAPMP eucalyptus and regenerated cellulosic microfiber in the outerstratified ply and the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwoodfiber in the tissue is limited to no more than 30%, while the eucalyptusfibers in the interior ply have a lignin content of at least about 23%,and exhibit an ISO brightness of at least about 82. Even though weprefer not to use APMP eucalyptus in the outer stratum, when used in alower stratum of the ply, usually, the second, the brightness of the plyis strongly influenced by the brightness of the fiber in the interiorlayers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described below with reference to the drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a shaker for use in the“Dispersibility Test” described herein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a fixture used for holding thetest bottle used in the “Dispersibility Test” upright, while thecontents are being drained therefrom.

FIG. 3 illustrates a marked microscope slide used in the Wet AbrasionLint Test.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic sectional view of a three-ply tissue withtwo stratified outer plies and a homogenous inner ply, whereineucalyptus APMP is incorporated in all three plies.

FIGS. 5 and 5A are bubble graphs illustrating the inter-relationshipamong the softness, CD wet strength and wet linting resistance ofseveral prototype products.

FIG. 6 is a bubble graph illustrating the inter-relationship amongdispersibility, CD wet strength and resistance to wet linting of severalprototype products.

FIG. 7 illustrates the dry tensile strength and softness of severalprototype tissue products.

FIG. 8 illustrates the caliper and basis weight of CWP prototype tissueproducts in comparison with those of fiber reorienting fabric creped(“FRFC”), i.e., belt creped, prototypes.

FIG. 9 illustrates the softness and wet lint resistance of CWP prototypetissue products in comparison with those of FRFC prototypes, with basisweight being indicated by bubble size.

FIG. 10 illustrates the effect of refining on the freeness of severaleucalyptus APMP pulps subjected to varying pulping procedures.

FIG. 11 illustrates the inter-relationship between bulk and freeness ofseveral eucalyptus pulps produced under varying pulping procedures.

FIG. 12 illustrates the inter-relationship between strength and freenessof several eucalyptus pulps produced under varying pulping procedures.

FIG. 13 illustrates the surprisingly high level of bulk that it ispossible to generate with eucalyptus APMP at desirably low levels ofstrength.

FIG. 14A illustrates the effect of varying levels of total alkalinityand peroxide on the brightness of eucalyptus APMP pulps when applied inthe refiner.

FIG. 14B illustrates the effect of varying levels of total alkalinityand peroxide on the brightness of eucalyptus APMP pulps when appliedafter the refiner.

FIG. 15 illustrates the very high levels of brightness obtainable fromeucalyptus APMP with relatively low consumption of caustic and peroxide.

FIG. 16 compares the brightness obtained with blends of eucalyptus APMPwith de-inked waste paper as compared to the brightness obtained withblends of eucalyptus APMP with kraft furnishes.

FIG. 17 compares the b* value (yellowness/blueness) obtained with blendsof eucalyptus APMP with de-inked waste paper as compared to thebrightness obtained with blends of eucalyptus APMP with kraft furnishes.

FIG. 18 illustrates the very high opacity attainable with eucalyptusAPMP and blends thereof as compared to kraft and de-inked recycledfurnishes.

FIG. 19 is another illustration of the very high levels of bulkattainable with APMP eucalyptus blends at desirably low strengths fortissue making.

FIG. 20 illustrates the reduction in WAR (water absorption rate)attainable with blends of eucalyptus APMP with de-inked recycled pulp.

FIG. 21 illustrates the effect of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) andpolyamidoamine (AMRES®) wet strength agents on blends of eucalyptus APMPwith southern kraft furnishes and de-inked recycled fiber.

FIG. 22 illustrates the surprising caliper and strength for tissuegrades attainable by incorporating eucalyptus APMP into conventionalpapermaking blends.

FIG. 23 illustrates the surprising softness and strength for tissuegrades attainable by incorporating eucalyptus APMP into conventionalpapermaking blends.

FIG. 24 compares parameters relating to fiber length distribution ofblends of eucalyptus APMP with recycled de-inked fiber and eucalyptuskraft as compared to blends of eucalyptus APMP with southern bleachedsoftwood kraft and southern bleached hardwood kraft fiber.

FIG. 25 illustrates the surprising dry lint resistance of tissue gradesattainable by incorporating eucalyptus APMP into conventionalpapermaking blends.

FIG. 26 is a schematic flow diagram of a process for alkaline peroxidebleaching of eucalyptus fibers for use with the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an isometric schematic illustrating a device to measure rollcompression of tissue products.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view taken along line 28-28 of FIG. 27.

FIGS. 29, 29A-29F, 2911 and 29T illustrate details of the emboss patternU 19 referred to herein.

FIGS. 30, 30-1, 30-2, 30-A to 30-H, and 30-J illustrate details of theemboss pattern HVS 9 referred to herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is described below with reference to numerous embodiments.This discussion is for purposes of illustration only. Modifications toparticular examples within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, set forth in the appended claims, will be readily apparent toone of skill in the art.

Terminology used herein is given its ordinary meaning consistent withthe exemplary definitions set forth immediately below, mg refers tomilligrams, m² refers to square meters, mm² refers to squaremillimeters, and so forth.

The creping adhesive “add-on” rate is calculated by dividing the rate ofapplication of adhesive (mg/min) by surface area of the drying cylinderpassing under a spray applicator boom (m²/min). The resinous adhesivecomposition most preferably consists essentially of a polyvinyl alcoholresin and a polyamide-epichlorohydrin resin, wherein the weight ratio ofpolyvinyl alcohol resin to polyamide-epichlorohydrin resin is from abouttwo to about four. The creping adhesive may also include a modifiersufficient to maintain good transfer between the creping belt and theYankee cylinder, generally, less than 5% by weight modifier and, morepreferably, less than about 2% by weight modifier, for peeled products.For blade creped products, from about 5% to about 25% modifier or moremay be used.

Unless otherwise specified, “basis weight”, BWT, bwt, BW, and so forth,refers to the weight of a 3000 square-foot (278.7 m²) ream of product(basis weight is also expressed in g/m² or gsm). Likewise, “ream” meansa 3000 square-foot (278.7 m²) ream unless otherwise specified.

For reel crepe, the reel crepe ratio is typically calculated as theYankee speed divided by reel speed. To express reel crepe as apercentage, 1 is subtracted from the reel crepe ratio and the resultmultiplied by 100.

Calipers and/or bulk reported herein may be measured at 8 or 16 sheetcalipers as specified. The sheets are stacked and the calipermeasurement taken about the central portion of the stack. Preferably,the test samples are conditioned in an atmosphere of 23°±1.0° C.(73.4°±1.8° F.) at 50% relative humidity for at least about 2 hours andthen measured with a Thwing-Albert Model 89-II-JR or Progage ElectronicThickness Tester with 2-in (50.8-mm) diameter anvils, 539±10 grams deadweight load, and 0.231 in/sec (5.87 mm/sec) descent rate. For finishedproduct testing, each sheet of product to be tested must have the samenumber of plies as the product as sold. For testing, in general, eightsheets are selected and stacked together. For napkin testing, napkinsare unfolded prior to stacking. For base sheet testing off of winders,each sheet to be tested must have the same number of plies as producedoff of the winder. For base sheet testing off of the papermachine reel,single plies must be used. Sheets are stacked together, aligned in themachine direction (MD). Bulk may also be expressed in units ofvolume/weight by dividing caliper by basis weight.

The terms “cellulosic”, “cellulosic sheet,” and the like, are meant toinclude any wet-laid product incorporating papermaking fiber havingcellulose as a major constituent. “Papermaking fibers” include virginpulps or recycle (secondary) cellulosic fibers or fiber mixes comprisingcellulosic fibers. Fibers suitable for making the webs of this inventioninclude nonwood fibers, such as cotton fibers or cotton derivatives,abaca, kenaf, sabai grass, flax, esparto grass, straw, jute hemp,bagasse, milkweed floss fibers, and pineapple leaf fibers, and woodfibers such as those obtained from deciduous and coniferous trees,including softwood fibers, such as northern and southern softwood kraftfibers, hardwood fibers, such as eucalyptus, maple, birch, aspen, or thelike. Papermaking fibers can be liberated from their source material byany one of a number of chemical pulping processes familiar to oneexperienced in the art, including sulfate, sulfite, polysulfide, sodapulping, etc. The pulp can be bleached if desired by chemical meansincluding the use of chlorine, chlorine dioxide, oxygen, alkalineperoxide, and so forth. The products of the present invention maycomprise a blend of conventional fibers (whether derived from virginpulp or recycle sources) and high coarseness lignin-rich tubular fibers,mechanical pulps such as bleached chemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP).“Furnishes” and like terminology refers to aqueous compositionsincluding papermaking fibers, optionally, wet strength resins,debonders, and the like, for making paper products. Recycle fiber istypically more than 50% by weight hardwood fiber and may be 75% to 80%or more hardwood fiber. For purposes of this invention, a particularlypreferred method for pulping of eucalyptus chips is usually referred toas alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping or eucalyptus APMP, even thoughthe longer, but less euphonious name of pre-conditioning refinerchemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp describes the more preferredprocess in more detail. In this application, when the term eucalyptusAPMP or APMP eucalyptus is used, we intend to include pre-conditioningrefiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulped eucalyptus withinthat genus as well. We have found that we can get surprisingly goodsoftness, bulk and wet properties using eucalyptus APMP, in conjunctionwith fibrillated cellulosic microfibers, often referred to as “CMF”.

As used herein, the term “compactively dewatering the web or furnish”refers to mechanical dewatering by overall wet pressing, such as on adewatering felt, for example, in some embodiments, by use of mechanicalpressure applied continuously over the web surface as in a nip between apress roll and a press shoe, wherein the web is in contact with apapermaking felt. The terminology “compactive dewatering” is used todistinguish from processes wherein the initial dewatering of the web iscarried out largely by thermal means, as is the case, for example, inU.S. Pat. No. 4,529,480 to Trokhan and U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,551 toFarrington et al. Compactively dewatering a web thus refers, forexample, to removing water from a nascent web having a consistency ofless than 30% or so by application of pressure thereto and/or increasingthe consistency of the web by about 15% or more by application ofpressure thereto, that is, increasing the consistency, for example, from30% to 45%. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,399,378, entitled “Fabric Crepe Processfor Making Absorbent Sheet,” and the many applications related to it,the importance of the distinction between creping using a woven fabricand a creping belt formed by perforating a solid belt was of minorimportance, so the term “belt” could apply to either creping medium. InU.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0186913 entitled“Belt-Creped, Variable Local Basis Weight Absorbent Sheet Prepared WithPerforated Polymeric Belt,” and its related applications, however, thedistinction between the use of a creping fabric and a perforatedpolymeric belt is of considerable importance, as it has been found thatthe use of a perforated polymeric belt makes it possible to obtainconsolidated regions, particularly, consolidated saddle shaped regions,in the web, giving it improved physical properties over the webspreviously formed using the technique of creping from a transfer drum.For convenience, we refer to this method of forming a sheet as FiberReorienting Belt Creping or FRBC. Further, in related applications, itis demonstrated that CMF containing wipers made using a perforatedpolymeric belt have substantial performance advantages over wipers madeusing a woven creping fabric, which we refer to as Fiber ReorientingFabric Creping or FRFC. Throughout this application, we have endeavoredto make this distinction explicit, but, definitional language inapplications incorporated by reference notwithstanding, in thisapplication, belts and creping fabrics should not be considered to besynonymous.

Consistency refers to % solids of a nascent web, for example, calculatedon a bone dry basis. “Air dry” means including residual moisture, byconvention, up to about 10% moisture for pulp and up to about 6% forpaper. A nascent web having 50% water and 50% bone dry pulp has aconsistency of 50%.

When the term “FRBC” is used herein, the reference is to papermakingtechnology as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2010/0186913, while “FRFC” is used to refer to the technology of using afabric to crepe from a transfer surface as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,494,563; U.S. Pat. No. 7,399,378; U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2005/0217814, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,995; U.S. Pat. No. 7,442,278;U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,998; U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,660; U.S. Pat. No.7,585,389; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0204966, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,850,823; U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,661; and relatedapplications, even though those processes are usable with belts as well.The disclosures of the foregoing patents, publications and patentapplications referred to above are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

FPM, Fpm and fpm refer to feet per minute, while fps refers to feet persecond.

MD means machine direction and CD means cross-machine direction.

Pusey and Jones (P&J) hardness (indentation) is measured in accordancewith American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D 531, and refersto the indentation number (standard specimen and conditions).

“Predominantly” means more than 50% of the specified component, byweight, unless otherwise indicated.

Roll compression is measured by compressing the roll under a 1500 g flatplaten 281 of a test apparatus 283 similar to that shown in FIGS. 27 and28. Sample rolls 285 are conditioned and tested in an atmosphere of23.0°±1.0° C. (73.4°±1.8° F.). A suitable test apparatus 283 with amovable 1500 g platen 281 (referred to as a Height Gauge) is availablefrom:

-   -   Research Dimensions    -   1720 Oakridge Road    -   Neenah, Wis. 54956    -   920-722-2289    -   920-725-6874 (FAX).

The test procedure is generally as follows:

(a) Raise the platen 281 and position the roll 285 to be tested on itsside, centered under the platen, with the tail seal 287 to the front ofthe gauge 291 and the core 289 parallel to the back of the gauge 291.

(b) Slowly lower the platen 281 until it rests on the roll 285.

(c) Read the compressed roll diameter or sleeve height from the gaugepointer 293 to the nearest 0.01 inch (0.254 mm).

(d) Raise the platen 281 and remove the roll 285.

(e) Repeat for each roll to be tested.

To calculate roll compression in percent, the following formula is used:

${{RC}(\%)} = {100 \times {\frac{\left( {{{initial}\mspace{14mu}{roll}\mspace{14mu}{diameter}} - {{compressed}\mspace{14mu}{roll}\mspace{14mu}{diameter}}} \right)}{{initial}\mspace{14mu}{roll}\mspace{14mu}{diameter}}.}}$

Dry tensile strengths (MD and CD), stretch, ratios thereof, modulus,break modulus, stress and strain are measured with a standard Instrontest device or other suitable elongation tensile tester that may beconfigured in various ways, typically, using 3 inch (76.2 mm) or 1 inch(25.4 mm) wide strips of tissue or towel, conditioned in an atmosphereof 23°±1° C. (73.4°±1° F.) at 50% relative humidity for 2 hours. Thetensile test is run at a crosshead speed of 2 in/min (50.8 mm/min).Break modulus is expressed in grams/3 inches/% strain or its SIequivalent of g/mm/% strain. % strain is dimensionless and need not bespecified. Unless otherwise indicated, values are break values.Geometric mean (GM) refers to the square root of the product of the MDand CD values for a particular product. Tensile energy absorption (TEA),which is defined as the area under the load/elongation (stress/strain)curve, is also measured during the procedure for measuring tensilestrength. Tensile energy absorption is related to the perceived strengthof the product in use. Products having a higher TEA may be perceived byusers as being stronger than similar products that have lower TEAvalues, even if the actual tensile strength of the two products are thesame. In fact, having a higher tensile energy absorption may allow aproduct to be perceived as being stronger than one with a lower TEA,even if the tensile strength of the high-TEA product is less than thatof the product having the lower tensile energy absorption. When the term“normalized” is used in connection with a tensile strength, it simplyrefers to the appropriate tensile strength from which the effect ofbasis weight has been removed by dividing that tensile strength by thebasis weight. In many cases, similar information is provided by the term“breaking length”.

Tensile ratios are simply ratios of an MD value determined by way of theforegoing methods, divided by the corresponding CD value. Unlessotherwise specified, a tensile property is a dry sheet property.

“Upper”, “upwardly” and like terminology is used purely for convenienceand refers to a position or direction toward the caps of the domestructures, that is, the belt side of the web, which is generallyopposite to the Yankee side, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

The wet tensile of the tissue of the present invention is measuredgenerally following Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry(TAPPI) Method T 576 pm 7, using a three-inch (76.2 mm) wide strip oftissue that is folded into a loop, clamped in a special fixture termed aFinch Cup, then immersed in a water. A suitable Finch cup, 3-in. (76.2mm), with base to fit a 3-in. (76.2 mm) grip, is available from:

-   -   High-Tech Manufacturing Services, Inc.    -   3105-B NE 65^(th) Street    -   Vancouver, Wash. 98663    -   360-696-1611    -   360-696-9887 (FAX).

For fresh basesheet and finished product (aged 30 days or less for towelproduct, aged 24 hours or less for tissue product) containing wetstrength additive, the test specimens are placed in a forced air ovenheated to 105° C. (221° F.) for five minutes. No oven aging is neededfor other samples. The Finch cup is mounted onto a tensile testerequipped with a 2.0 pound (8.9 Newton) load cell with the flange of theFinch cup clamped by the tester's lower jaw and the ends of tissue loopclamped into the upper jaw of the tensile tester. The cup portion of theFinch Cup is filled with a standardized “tap water” comprising: 0.006%calcium chloride, 0.006% magnesium chloride 6H₂O, 0.007% sodiumbicarbonate in balance purified water at a pH of approximately 6.5.

The sample is immersed in water that has been adjusted to a pH of7.0±0.1 and the tensile is tested after a 5 second immersion time usinga crosshead speed of 2 inches/minute (50.8 mm/minute). The results areexpressed in g/3 in. or (g/mm), dividing the readout by two to accountfor the loop, as appropriate.

A translating transfer surface refers to the surface from which the webis creped onto the creping belt. The translating transfer surface may bethe surface of a rotating drum as described hereafter, or may be thesurface of a continuous smooth moving belt or another moving fabric thatmay have surface texture, and so forth. The translating transfer surfaceneeds to support the web and to facilitate the high solids creping, aswill be appreciated from the discussion that follows.

Velocity delta means a difference in linear speed.

The void volume and/or void volume ratio, as referred to hereafter, aredetermined by saturating a sheet with a nonpolar POROFIL™ liquid, andmeasuring the amount of liquid absorbed. The volume of liquid absorbedis equivalent to the void volume within the sheet structure. The %weight increase (PWI) is expressed as grams of liquid absorbed per gramof fiber in the sheet structure times 100, as noted hereafter. Morespecifically, for each single-ply sheet sample to be tested, select 8sheets and cut out a 1 inch by 1 inch (25.4 mm by 25.4 mm) square in themachine direction and 1 inch (25.4 mm) in the cross-machine direction.For multi-ply product samples, each ply is measured as a separateentity. Multiple samples should be separated into individual singleplies and 8 sheets of each ply position used for testing. Weigh andrecord the dry weight of each test specimen to the nearest 0.0001 gram.Place the specimen in a dish containing POROFIL™ liquid having aspecific gravity of about 1.93 grams per cubic centimeter, availablefrom Coulter Electronics Ltd., Beckman Coulter, Inc., 250 S. KraemerBoulevard, P.O. Box 8000, Brea, Calif. 92822-8000 USA; Part No. 9902458.After 10 seconds, grasp the specimen at the very edge (1 to 2millimeters in) of one corner with tweezers and remove from the liquid.Hold the specimen with that corner uppermost and allow excess liquid todrip for 30 seconds. Lightly dab (less than ½ second contact) the lowercorner of the specimen on #4 filter paper (Whatman Ltd., Maidstone,England) in order to remove any excess of the last partial drop.Immediately weigh the specimen, within 10 seconds, recording the weightto the nearest 0.0001 gram. The PWI for each specimen, expressed asgrams of POROFIL™ liquid per gram of fiber, is calculated as follows:

${PWI} = {\frac{\left( {W_{2} - W_{1}} \right)}{W_{1}} \times 100}$

wherein

“W₁” is the dry weight of the specimen, in grams; and

“W₂” is the wet weight of the specimen, in grams.

The PWI for all eight individual specimens is determined as describedabove and the average of the eight specimens is the PWI for the sample.

The void volume ratio is calculated by dividing the PWI by 1.9 (densityof the fluid) to express the ratio as a percentage, whereas the voidvolume (gms/gm) is simply the weight increase ratio, that is, PWIdivided by 100.

Water absorbency rate or WAR, is measured in seconds, and is the time ittakes for a sample to absorb a 0.1 gram droplet of water disposed on itssurface by way of an automated syringe. The test specimens arepreferably conditioned at 23° C.±1° C. (73.4±1.8° F.) at 50% relativehumidity for 2 hours. For each sample, 4 test specimens 3″×3″ (76.2×76.2mm) are prepared. Each specimen is placed in a sample holder such that ahigh intensity lamp is directed toward the specimen. 0.1 ml of water isdeposited on the specimen surface and a stop watch is started. When thewater is absorbed, as indicated by a lack of further reflection of lightfrom the drop, the stopwatch is stopped, and the time recorded to thenearest 0.1 seconds. The procedure is repeated for each specimen and theresults averaged for the sample. WAR is measured in accordance withTAPPI method T 432 cm-99.

Dispersibility Test

To determine how well bathroom tissue disintegrates in water undercontrolled agitation using a standard water solution, a sample of tissueis placed in a bottle of specified dimensions in a standardized watersolution and subjected to controlled agitation using a standardizedshaker that shakes the bottle for a preset number of shakes at 180±5strokes per minute. One stroke is a complete cycle of back and forth.The bottle is then drained in a fixture adapted to hold the bottle withits centerline perpendicular. See FIGS. 1 and 2. More specifically, thetest is conducted as follows:

The standardized bottle shaker 50 and bottle guide fixture 52 areavailable from Research Dimensions, 1720 Oakridge Road, Neenah, Wis.54956, (920) 722-2289; FAX (920) 725-6874. A small mouth ( 11/16-inchdiameter orifice) plastic bottle 54 with cap, 250 ml, is catalog number02-924-6D, available from Fisher Scientific Company, 300 Industry Drive,Pittsburgh, Pa. 15275. The standard water solution, catalog numberNC9664362, is available from Fisher Scientific Company, 800-766-7000.

Remove and discard the first three layers of tissue from a roll oftissue. (The tissue sample to be tested may be taken from anywhere inthe roll except for the three outer wraps and the last 20 sheets fromthe core.) If the tissue samples and/or base sheet samples are less than24 hours old, they are to be oven cured for 5 minutes at 105° C.

For testing of finished product: six three-sheet strips are cut from theroll. If the product being tested is a multi-ply product, the plies arenot separated from each other, but are tested still plied together.

For testing of base sheet, specimens are to be cut equivalent to thelength and width of the finished product for which they are intended,three specimens are for one-ply product, six specimens are for two-plyproduct, and nine specimens are cut for three-ply product.

180±5 ml of standard water at 23° C. (73° F.), is transferred to bottle54 with cap.

Shaker 50 is set for an appropriate number of strokes. In the case offinished product testing, the three-sheet strip of tissue is folded inhalf, rolled up and inserted into the plastic bottle, which is thencapped. In the case of base sheet, the specimen is folded in half andone strip of tissue is rolled up when the intended finished product isone-ply, two strips of tissue for two-ply finished product, and threestrips of tissue for three-ply finished product. The roll is insertedinto the plastic bottle, which is then capped. Bottle 54 is placed inshaker 50 (FIG. 1) with base 51 toward the drive arm 58, and motor 60started.

After shaker 50 has shaken bottle 54 for the set number of strokes, thecontents are immediately checked for disintegration by inverting bottle54 and placing it into bottle guide fixture 52 (FIG. 2) in one quickmotion to see if the contents will pour out into a beaker. In order forthe specimen to pass the test for that number of shakes, the entirecontents of bottle 54 must empty within eight seconds without shaking orsqueezing bottle 54. The test is replicated and a “pass” is recordedonly if both specimens pass.

Dry Lint Test

To quantify the amount of lint removed from towel, tissue and relatedproducts when used dry, a Sutherland Rub Tester with 4.0 lb sled isused. This apparatus is available from Danilee Company, 27223 StarryMountain Street, San Antonio, Tex. 78260; 830-438-7737; 800-438-7738(FAX). The 4.0 lb rub block for the Rub Tester has dimensions of 2″ by2″ so that the pressure exerted during testing is 1 psi.

After the samples to be evaluated are preconditioned at 10 to 35% RH at22° C. to 40° C. for 24 hours, then conditioned at 50.0%±2.0% RH and23.0±1.0° C. for 2 hours, all of the subsequent procedures are performedwithin the confines of a room maintained at between 48 to 53% RH and atemperature between 22° C. and 24° C.

Two stacks of four 2.25-in.×4.5-in. test strips with 4.5-in length inthe machine direction are cut from the sample with the top (exterior ofroll) side up.

Two 2.5-in.×6-in. strips of black felt are cut with the 6-in, length inthe machine direction, and the top side labeled with sample ID numbers.

A baseline reading for the felt is determined by taking one L* lightnesscolor reading on the labeled side of each black felt strip used fortesting in the middle of what will be the rubbed area using aGretagMacbeth® Ci5 spectrophotometer using the following settings on thespectrophotometer: Large area view, specular component excluded, UVSource C, 2 degree observer, and Illuminant C. The GretagMacbeth®spectrophotometer Model Ci5 is available from GretagMacbeth, 617 LittleBritain Road, New Windsor, N.Y. 12553; 914-565-7660; 914-565-0390 (FAX);www.gretagmacbeth.com. The “before testing” reading is later compared tothe “after testing” reading in the same area of the black felt strip onthe same side, so particular care is taken to be sure that comparisonare made only between the same felt strips. “L*” as used in thisconnection relates to International Commission on Illumination (CIE)1976, also known as CIELAB measurement of lightness, and should not beconfused with Hunter lightness typically denominated “L”. In thisconnection, the asterisk “*” is not a reference mark directing thereader to some other location in this document, but is a portion of thecommonly used symbol for CIE 1976 lightness “L*”.

To evaluate a specimen, the specimen is taped to the galvanized plate onthe Sutherland Rub Tester with the top side up so that rubbing will bein the machine direction, with care being observed to ensure that eachspecimen is taped in the same rub area each time the test is performed.The first black felt specimen is taped, labeled side out, to the bottomof the 4.0-lb rub block of the Sutherland Rub Tester, the number ofstrokes on the rub tester is set to four, and the slow speed selected(#2 setting for 4 speed model or #1 setting for 2 speed model), the rubblock is placed on the Sutherland Rub Tester carriage arm and the“Start” button pressed to start testing. After the four strokes arecompleted, the rub block is removed from the tester and the black feltis removed from the bottom of the rub block with the black felt beingpreserved for L* “after testing” color reading. The specimen is removedfrom the galvanized plate and discarded.

One L* color reading is taken on the labeled side of each black feltstrip, reading the same spot used to obtain the “before testing” value,in the middle of the rubbed area. The “after testing” reading is pairedup with the appropriate “before testing” reading to calculate thedifference between the readings—“ΔL*”.

For each sample, the average, standard deviation, minimum and maximumtest results are recorded as measured to the nearest 0.01 L* unit forboth the before testing and after testing values. The difference valueof the after reading minus the before reading is indicative of the lintremoval by the standardized dry rubbing procedure.

Wet Abrasion Lint Test

To evaluate a tissue sample for lint removal by wet abrasion, it isfirst subjected to simulated wet use against a sample of standard blackfelt with a Crockmeter Rub Tester, modified as described herein, thenthe area in mm² of the lint left on the felt is measured with an EpsonPerfection 4490 flat bed scanner and Apogee, SpecScan 2.3.36 Software.

The Crockmeter Rub tester is available from SDL Atlas, LLC, 3934 AirwayDrive, Rock Hill, S.C. 29732; (803) 329-2110. To be used to measure wetlint as described herein, the Crockmeter is modified to accept a 360gram arm and a 1″×2″ foot that exerts a pressure on the specimen of0.435 psi. The weight of the rub block is 355 g for the weighted armsupported on one end, and 36 g for the rub foot. These weights areexerted on a 1″×2″ area, for a pressure of 391 g/12.9 cm²=30.3 g/cm². Incontrast, the method of evaluating wet abrasion in the Bhat et al. andLuu patents referenced herein used a 135 g sled placed on a 2×3″ samplefor a pressure of 135 g/38.7 cm²=3.5 g/cm².

Research Dimensions at 1720 Oakridge Road, Neenah, Wis. 54956;920-722-2289, will modify Crockmeter Rub Testers to conform hereto.Suitable black felt is 3/16-inch thick, part #113308F-24 available fromAetna Felt Corporation, 2401 W. Emaus Avenue, Allentown, Pa. 18103;800-526-4451.

To test a sample, the outer three layers of tissue are removed from theroll. Three sheets of tissue are cut at the perforations and placed in astack using a paper cutter ensuring that the tissue sheets are placed inthe same orientation relative to direction and the side of the roll.From the stack, samples that are 2-inches by 2.5-inches are cut with thelong dimension being the machine direction. Enough samples are cut for 4replicates. The short (2″) side of the tissue is marked with a small dotto indicate the surface of the tissue that was outwardly facing when onthe roll. The foot is mounted to the arm of the Crockmeter with theshort dimension parallel to the stroke of the Crockmeter and strokedistance set at 4″+⅛ inch and the stroke speed is set to strokes perminute. The black felt is cut into 3-inch by 6-inch pieces with theinside surface being marked along the short edge. In this test, thetissue sample to be tested will be rubbed against the inside of the feltstarting at the mark. A 12-inch by 12-inch sheet of black acrylic, a2-inch by 3-inch glass microscope slide 40 marked as shown in FIG. 3,tape, a pipette and a beaker of distilled water are located on anynearby convenient flat surface. The Crockmeter is turned on, then turnedoff, to position the arm at its furthest back position. The spacer isplaced under the arm to hold it above the rubbing surface. A clean pieceof black felt is taped to the base of the Crockmeter over the rubbingsurface with the marked surface oriented upward with the marked end upadjacent to the beginning point of the stroke of the foot. A sample istaped along one shorter edge to the foot with the top side of the tissuefacing up, and the length of the tissue is wrapped around the foot andattached to the arm of the Crockmeter with the taped side, and themarked location on the tissue sample facing the operator at the forwardportion of the Crockmeter. The type of tape used is not critical. Officetape commonly referred to as “cellophane tape” or sold under thetrademark “Scotch® Tape” is suitable. The spacer is removed from underthe arm and the arm with the attached foot is set down on the black feltwith the long dimension of the foot perpendicular to the rub direction,and the foot is fixed in place. The glass microscope slide is placed onthe felt forward of the foot and 3 volumes of 200 μL of distilled watereach are dispensed from the pipette onto the cross-marks on the glassslide. The sample, foot and arm gently lifted, the glass slide is placedunder the sample and the sample is lowered to allow the water to wet thesample for 5 seconds, after which time the arm is lifted, the glassslide removed and the Crockmeter activated to allow the sample to makethree forward strokes on the felt with the arm being lifted manually atthe beginning of each return stroke to prevent the sample fromcontacting the felt during the return strokes. After three forwardstrokes, the Crockmeter is inactivated and the spacer placed under thearm so that the black felt can be removed without disturbing the abradedlint thereupon. Three minutes after the felt is removed from the rubbingsurface, it is scanned in an Epson, Perfection 4490 flat bed Scannerusing Apogee SpecScan Software version 2.3.36 with the software beingset for “lint” in the “Scanner Settings” window, with “5” being set inthe “Process Groups of:” window on the “Defaults panel”, the“Resolution” being set at “600 dots/inch”, the “Scanner Mode” being setto “256-Grayscale”, the “Area Setting” being set to “Special”, the “ScanImage” being set to “Reverse Image”, the “Upper Limit” window on the“Dirt Histogram” panel being set to “>=5.000” the “Lower Limit” windowof that panel being set to “0.013-0.020” and the “X Scale:” window beingset to “25”; and the “PPM” window of the “Bad Handsheet” panel set to“2500.0”. On the “Printout Settings:” panel, the “Gray-Summary”, “SheetSummary” and “Gray Histogram” boxes are checked, the “Copies” window isset to “1”, while the “Dirt Histogram”, “Categories” and “XY Locationboxes on that panel are unchecked. Both the “Enable Display” and “EnableZoom” boxes are checked on the Display Mode panel. On the “ScannerSetup” panel, the “White” box is set for “255” while the “Black” box isset for “0”, the “Contrast Filter” box is set for “0.000”, the upper“Threshold=” box is set for 80.0 [% percent of background plus] whilethe lower “Threshold=” box is set for “0.0” [grayscale value]. The“Percent of Background, plus offset” box on the “Scanner Setup” panel ischecked while the “Manual Threshold Setting” and “Function of StdDev ofBackground” boxes are unchecked. If desired the “Grade Identification:”and “Reel/Load Number:” boxes may be used to record indicia related tothe identification of the samples being tested. On the “Special AreaDefinition” panel, “Inches” is checked in the “Dimensions:” region while“Rectangular” is checked in the “Shape:” region. In the “Border at topand left:” region, “0.15” [in.] is entered in the “At the left side:(X)” box and “0.625” [in.] is entered in the “At the top: (Y)” box. Inthe “Area to scan:” regions “2.7” [in.] is entered in the “Width (X)”box and “5.2” [in.] is entered in the “Height (Y)” box. After scanning,the area in mm² of the abraded lint left on the black felt is output inthe “SHEETS” Table in the “Total Area” column under the “SampleSheet(s)” heading on the “Sheet & Category Summary” screen. This resultis sometimes referred to herein as “WALA” for Wet Abraded Lint Area,which is reported in mm².

In other cases, the fiber removed will be washed off, and the solutionsubjected to testing in an Optest Fiber Quality Analyzer to determinethe number of fibers removed having a length in excess of 40 μm. TheOptest Fiber Quality Analyzer has become a standard in the paperindustry for determining fiber length distributions and fiber counts(above a certain minimal length which keeps decreasing as Optestupgrades their technology).

The Optest Fiber Quality Analyzer is available from:

-   -   OpTest Equipment Inc.    -   900 Tupper St. Hawkesbury-ON-K6A 3S3-Canada    -   Phone: 613-632-5169 Fax: 613-632-3744.

Regenerated Cellulose Microfiber

In accordance with the invention, regenerated cellulose fiber isprepared from a cellulosic dope comprising cellulose dissolved in asolvent comprising tertiary amine N-oxides or ionic liquids. The solventcomposition for dissolving cellulose and preparing underivatizedcellulose dopes suitably includes tertiary amine oxides such asN-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) and similar compounds enumerated inU.S. Pat. No. 4,246,221 to McCorsley, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. Cellulose dopes may containnon-solvents for cellulose such as water, alkanols or other solvents, aswill be appreciated from the discussion that follows.

Suitable cellulosic dopes are enumerated in Table 1, below.

TABLE 1 EXAMPLES OF TERTIARY AMINE N-OXIDE SOLVENTS Tertiary AmineN-oxide % water % cellulose N-methylmorpholine up to 22 up to 38 N-oxideN,N-dimethyl-ethanol-amine N-oxide up to 12.5 up to 31N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine N-oxide up to 21 up to 44N-methylhomopiperidine N-oxide 5.5-20 1-22 N,N,N-triethylamine   7-295-15 N-oxide 2(2-hydroxypropoxy)-   5-10 2-7.5N-ethyl-N,N,-dimethyl-amide N-oxide N-methylpiperidine up to 17.5 5-17.5N-oxide N,N-dimethylbenzylamine 5.5-17 1-20 N-oxide

See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,941 to Johnson, the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

Details with respect to preparation of cellulosic dopes includingcellulose dissolved in suitable ionic liquids and cellulose regenerationtherefrom are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,599 of Swatloski et al.entitled “Dissolution and Processing of Cellulose Using Ionic Liquids”,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Here,again, suitable levels of non-solvents for cellulose may be included.This patent generally describes a process for dissolving cellulose in anionic liquid without derivatization and regenerating the cellulose in arange of structural forms. It is reported that the cellulose solubilityand the solution properties can be controlled by the selection of ionicliquid constituents with small cations and halide or pseudohalide anionsfavoring solution. Preferred ionic liquids for dissolving celluloseinclude those with cyclic cations such as the following cations:imidazolium; pyridinum; pyridazinium; pyrimidinium; pyrazinium;pyrazolium; oxazolium; 1,2,3-triazolium; 1,2,4-triazolium; thiazolium;piperidinium; pyrrolidinium; quinolinium; and isoquinolinium.

Processing techniques for ionic liquids/cellulose dopes are alsodiscussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,557, to Holbrey et al., entitled“Cellulose Matrix Encapsulation and Method”, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. Note also, U.S. Pat. No. 7,888,412, ofHolbrey et al., entitled “Polymer Dissolution and Blend Formation inIonic Liquids”, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,557, also of Holbrey etal., entitled “Cellulose Matrix Encapsulation and Method”, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. With respectto ionic fluids, in general, the following documents provide furtherdetail: U.S. Pat. No. 7,763,715, of Hecht et al., entitled “ExtractingBiopolymers From a Biomass Using Ionic Liquids”; U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006/0240727, of Price et al., entitled “Ionic LiquidBased Products and Method of Using The Same”; U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006/0240728 of Price et al., entitled “Ionic LiquidBased Products and Method of Using the Same”; U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006/0090271, of Price et al., entitled “Processes ForModifying Textiles Using Ionic Liquids”; and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006/0207722 of Amano et al., entitled “PressureSensitive Adhesive Compositions, Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Sheets WithSuitable Protecting Films”, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference. Some ionic liquids and quasi-ionic liquids whichmay be suitable are disclosed by Imperato et al., Chem. Commun. 2005,1170-1172, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

“Ionic liquid” refers to a molten composition that includes an ioniccompound that is preferably a stable liquid at temperatures of less than100° C. at ambient pressure. Typically, such liquids have very low vaporpressure at 100° C., less than 75 mBar or so, and preferably, less than50 mBar or less than 25 mBar at 100° C. Most suitable liquids will havea vapor pressure of less than 10 mBar at 100° C., and often, the vaporpressure is so low that it is negligible and is not easily measurable,since it is less than 1 mBar at 100° C.

Suitable commercially available ionic liquids are Basionic™ ionic liquidproducts available from BASF (Florham Park, N.J.).

Cellulose dopes, including ionic liquids having dissolved therein about5% by weight underivatized cellulose, are commercially available fromAldrich (Sigma-Aldrich Corp., St. Louis, Mo.). These compositionsutilize alkyl-methylimidazolium acetate as the solvent. It has beenfound that choline-based ionic liquids are not particularly suitable fordissolving cellulose.

After the cellulosic dope is prepared, it is spun into fiber,fibrillated and incorporated into absorbent sheet as described later.

A synthetic cellulose, such as lyocell, is split into micro- andnano-fibers, and added to conventional wood pulp. The fiber may befibrillated in an unloaded disk refiner, for example, or any othersuitable technique including using a Pulmac-Fiber (PFI) mill.Preferably, relatively short fiber is used and the consistency kept lowduring fibrillation. The beneficial features of fibrillated lyocellinclude: biodegradability, hydrogen bonding, dispersibility,repulpability, and smaller microfibers than obtainable with meltspunfibers, for example.

Fibrillated lyocell or its equivalent has advantages over splittablemeltspun fibers. Synthetic microdenier fibers come in a variety offorms. For example, a 3 denier nylon/polyethylene terephthalate (PET)fiber in a so-called pie wedge configuration can be split into 16 or 32segments, typically, in a hydroentangling process. Each segment of a16-segment fiber would have a coarseness of about 2 mg/100 m versuseucalyptus pulp at about 7 mg/100 m. Unfortunately, a number ofdeficiencies have been identified with this approach for conventionalwet laid applications. Dispersibility is less than optimal. Melt spunfibers must be split before sheet formation, and an efficient method islacking. Most available polymers for these fibers are not biodegradable.The coarseness is lower than wood pulp, but still high enough that theymust be used in substantial amounts and form a costly part of thefurnish. Finally, the lack of hydrogen bonding requires other methods ofretaining the fibers in the sheet.

Fibrillated lyocell has fibrils that can be as small as 0.1-0.25 microns(μm or μ) in diameter, translating to a coarseness of 0.0013-0.0079mg/100 m. Assuming these fibrils are available as individualstrands—separate from the parent fiber—the furnish fiber population canbe dramatically increased at various addition rates. Even fibrils notseparated from the parent fiber may provide benefit. For convenience,fibrillated lyocell is often referred to herein as CMF as short forcellulosic microfiber. Dispersibility, repulpability, hydrogen bonding,and biodegradability remain product attributes, since the fibrils arecellulose.

Fibrils from lyocell fiber have important distinctions from wood pulpfibrils. The most important distinction is the length of the lyocellfibrils. Wood pulp fibrils are only perhaps microns long, and,therefore, act in the immediate area of a fiber-fiber bond. Wood pulpfibrillation from refining leads to stronger, denser sheets. Lyocellfibrils, however, are potentially as long as the parent fibers. Thesefibrils can act as independent fibers and improve the bulk, whilemaintaining or improving strength. Southern pine and mixed southernhardwood (MSHW) are two examples of fibers that are disadvantagedrelative to premium pulps with respect to softness. The term “premiumpulps” used herein refers to northern softwoods and eucalyptus pulpscommonly used in the tissue industry for producing the softest bath,facial, and towel grades. Southern pine is coarser than northernsoftwood kraft, and mixed southern hardwood is both coarser and higherin fines than market eucalyptus. The lower coarseness and lower finescontent of premium market pulp leads to a higher fiber population,expressed as fibers per gram (N or Ni>0.2) in Table 3. The coarsenessand length values in Table 2 were obtained with an OpTest Fiber QualityAnalyzer. Definitions are as follows:

$L_{n} = \frac{\sum\limits_{{all}\mspace{14mu}{fibers}}\;{n_{i}L_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{{all}\mspace{14mu}{fibers}}\; n_{i}}$$L_{n,{i > 0.2}} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i > 0.2}\;{n_{i}L_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{i > 0.2}\; n_{i}}$$C = {10^{5} \times \frac{sampleweight}{\sum\limits_{{all}\mspace{14mu}{fibers}}\;{n_{i}L_{i}}}}$$N = {\frac{100}{CL}\mspace{14mu}\left( {{millionfibers}\text{/}{gram}} \right)}$Northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) and eucalyptus have more fibersper gram than southern pine and hardwood. Lower coarseness leads tohigher fiber populations and smoother sheets.

TABLE 2 Fiber Properties C, Fines, N, N_(i>0.2 mm) Sample Type mg/100 m% L_(n), mm. MM/g L_(n, i>0.2 mm) MM/g Southern HW Pulp 10.1 21 0.28 350.91 11 Southern HW - low fines Pulp 10.1 7 0.54 18 0.94 11 AracruzEucalyptus Pulp 6.9 5 0.50 29 0.72 20 Southern SW Pulp 18.7 9 0.60 91.57 3 Northern SW Pulp 14.2 3 1.24 6 1.74 4 Southern (30 SW/70 HW) Basesheet 11.0 18 0.31 29 0.93 10 30 Southern SW/70 Base sheet 8.3 7 0.47 260.77 16 Eucalyptus

For comparison, the “parent” or “stock” fibers of unfibrillated lyocellhave a coarseness of 16.6 mg/100 m before fibrillation and a diameter ofabout 11 to about 12 μm.

The fibrils of fibrillated lyocell have a coarseness on the order of0.001-0.008 mg/100 m. Thus, the fiber population can be dramaticallyincreased at relatively low addition rates. Fiber length of the parentfiber is selectable, and fiber length of the fibrils can depend on thestarting length and the degree of cutting during the fibrillationprocess.

The dimensions of the fibers passing the 200 mesh screen are on theorder of 0.2 micron by 100 micron long. Using these dimensions, onecalculates a fiber population of 200 billion fibers per gram. Forperspective, southern pine might be three million fibers per gram andeucalyptus might be twenty million fibers per gram (See Table 2). Itappears that these fibers are the fibrils that are broken away from theoriginal unrefined fibers. Different fiber shapes with lyocell intendedto readily fibrillate could result in 0.2 micron diameter fibers thatare perhaps 1000 microns or more long, instead of 100. As noted above,fibrillated fibers of regenerated cellulose may be made by producing“stock” fibers having a diameter of 10 to 12 microns, or so, followed byfibrillating the parent fibers. Alternatively, fibrillated lyocellmicrofibers have recently become available from Engineered FibersTechnology (Shelton, Conn.) having suitable properties. Particularlypreferred materials are more than 40% fiber that is finer than 14 meshand exhibit a very low coarseness (low freeness). For ready reference,mesh sizes appear in Table 3, below.

TABLE 3 Mesh Size Sieve Mesh # Inches Microns 14 .0555 1400 28 .028 70060 .0098 250 100 .0059 150 200 .0029 74

Details as to fractionation using the Bauer-McNett Classifier appear inGooding et al., “Fractionation in a Bauer-McNett Classifier”, Journal ofPulp and Paper Science, Vol. 27, No. 12, December 2001, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference.

In connection with the present invention, an absorbent paper web is madeby dispersing papermaking fibers into aqueous furnish (slurry) anddepositing the aqueous furnish onto the forming wire of a papermakingmachine. Any suitable forming scheme might be used. For example, anextensive, but non-exhaustive, list in addition to Fourdrinier formersincludes a crescent former, a C-wrap twin wire former, an S-wrap twinwire former, or a suction breast roll former. The forming fabric can beany suitable foraminous member, including single layer fabrics, doublelayer fabrics, triple layer fabrics, photopolymer fabrics, and the like.Non-exhaustive background art in the forming fabric area includes U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,157,276; 4,605,585; 4,161,195; 3,545,705; 3,549,742;3,858,623; 4,041,989; 4,071,050; 4,112,982; 4,149,571; 4,182,381;4,184,519; 4,314,589; 4,359,069; 4,376,455; 4,379,735; 4,453,573;4,564,052; 4,592,395; 4,611,639; 4,640,741; 4,709,732; 4,759,391;4,759,976; 4,942,077; 4,967,085; 4,998,568; 5,016,678; 5,054,525;5,066,532; 5,098,519; 5,103,874; 5,114,777; 5,167,261; 5,199,261;5,199,467; 5,211,815; 5,219,004; 5,245,025; 5,277,761; 5,328,565; and5,379,808, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. One forming fabric particularly useful with the presentinvention is Voith Fabrics Forming Fabric 2164 made by Voith FabricsCorporation, Shreveport, La.

Foam-forming of the aqueous furnish on a forming wire or fabric may beemployed as a means for forming sheets comprising fibers that aresomewhat difficult to disperse in conventional aqueous furnishes.Foam-forming techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,500,302;6,413,368; 4,543,156 and Canadian Patent No. 2,053,505, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference. The foamed fiber furnishis made up from an aqueous slurry of fibers mixed with a foamed liquidcarrier just prior to its introduction to the headbox. The pulp slurrysupplied to the system has a consistency in the range of from about 0.5to about 7 weight % fibers, preferably, in the range of from about 2.5to about 4.5 weight %. The pulp slurry is added to a foamed liquidcomprising water, air and surfactant containing 50 to 80% air by volume,forming a foamed fiber furnish having a consistency in the range of fromabout 0.1 to about 3 weight % fiber by simple mixing from naturalturbulence and mixing inherent in the process elements. The addition ofthe pulp as a low consistency slurry results in excess foamed liquidrecovered from the forming wires. The excess foamed liquid is dischargedfrom the system and may be used elsewhere or treated for recovery ofsurfactant therefrom.

The furnish will almost always contain chemical additives to alter thephysical properties of the paper produced. These chemistries are wellunderstood by the skilled artisan and may be used in any knowncombination. Such additives may be surface modifiers, softeners,debonders, strength aids, latexes, opacifiers, optical brighteners,dyes, pigments, sizing agents, barrier chemicals, retention aids,insolubilizers, organic or inorganic crosslinkers, or combinationsthereof, the chemicals optionally comprising polyols, starches,polypropylene glycol (PPG) esters, polyethylene glycol (PEG) esters,phospholipids, surfactants, polyamines, HMCP (Hydrophobically ModifiedCationic Polymers), HMAP (Hydrophobically Modified Anionic Polymers), orthe like.

The pulp can be mixed with strength adjusting agents, such as wetstrength agents, dry strength agents, debonders/softeners, and so forth.Even though permanent wet strength is usually considered to be highlycontra-indicated for bath tissue products, it is often included in manyfacial tissue products that are not intended to be flushable. Suitablewet strength agents are known to the skilled artisan. A comprehensive,but non-exhaustive, list of useful strength aids includesurea-formaldehyde resins, melamine formaldehyde resins, glyoxylatedpolyacrylamide resins, polyamide-epichlorohydrin resins, and the like.Thermosetting polyacrylamides are produced by reacting acrylamide withdiallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DADMAC) to produce a cationicpolyacrylamide copolymer that is ultimately reacted with glyoxal toproduce a cationic cross-linking wet strength resin, glyoxylatedpolyacrylamide. These materials are generally described in U.S. Pat. No.3,556,932 to Coscia et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,933 to Williams etal., both of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. Resins of this type are commercially available under thetrade name of PAREZ® 631NC by Bayer Corporation (Pittsburgh, Pa.).Different mole ratios of acrylamide/-DADMAC/glyoxal can be used toproduce cross-linking resins, which are useful as wet strength agents.Furthermore, other dialdehydes can be substituted for glyoxal to producethermosetting wet strength characteristics. Of particular utility arethe polyamide-epichlorohydrin wet strength resins, an example of whichis sold under the trade names Kymene® 557LX and Kymene® 557H by HerculesIncorporated of Wilmington, Del., and Amres® from Georgia-PacificResins, Inc. These resins and the processes for making the resins aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,623 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,076, eachof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Anextensive description of polymeric-epihalohydrin resins is given in“Chapter 2: Alkaline-Curing Polymeric Amine-Epichlorohydrin” by Espy inWet Strength Resins and Their Application (L. Chan, Editor, 1994),herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. A reasonablycomprehensive list of wet strength resins is described by Westfelt inCellulose Chemistry and Technology Volume 13, page 813, 1979, which isalso incorporated herein by reference.

Suitable temporary wet strength agents for use in the practice of thepresent invention include aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes includingglyoxal, malonic dialdehyde, succinic dialdehyde, glutaraldehyde anddialdehyde starches, as well as substituted or reacted starches,disaccharides, polysaccharides, chitosan, or other reacted polymericreaction products of monomers or polymers having aldehyde groups, andoptionally, nitrogen groups. Representative nitrogen containingpolymers, which can suitably be reacted with the aldehyde containingmonomers or polymers, include vinyl-amides, acrylamides and relatednitrogen containing polymers. These polymers impart a positive charge tothe aldehyde containing reaction product. In addition, othercommercially available temporary wet strength agents, such as, PAREZ®FJ98, (low molecular weight slightly cationic glyoxalatedpolyacrylamide) manufactured by Kemira (Atlanta, Ga.) can be used, alongwith those disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,702.

The temporary wet strength resin may be any one of a variety ofwater-soluble organic polymers comprising aldehydic units and cationicunits used to increase dry and wet tensile strength of a paper product.Such resins are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,675,394; 5,240,562;5,138,002; 5,085,736; 4,981,557; 5,008,344; 4,603,176; 4,983,748;4,866,151; 4,804,769 and 5,217,576. Modified starches sold under thetrademarks CO-BOND® 1000 and CO-BOND® 1000 Plus, by National Starch andChemical Company of Bridgewater, N.J. may be used. Prior to use, thecationic aldehydic water soluble polymer can be prepared by preheatingan aqueous slurry of approximately 5% solids maintained at a temperatureof approximately 240° F. (116° C.) and a pH of about 2.7 forapproximately 3.5 minutes. Finally, the slurry can be quenched anddiluted by adding water to produce a mixture of approximately 1.0%solids at less than about 130° F. (54.4° C.).

Other temporary wet strength agents, also available from National Starchand Chemical Company are sold under the trademarks CO-BOND® 1600 andCO-BOND® 2300. These starches are supplied as aqueous colloidaldispersions and do not require preheating prior to use.

To the extent that dry strength agents are added, suitable dry strengthagents include starch, guar gum, polyacrylamides, carboxymethylcellulose, and the like. Of particular utility is carboxymethylcellulose, an example of which is sold under the trade name Hercules®CMC, by Hercules Incorporated of Wilmington, Del.

Suitable debonders are likewise known to the skilled artisan. Debondersor softeners may also be incorporated into the pulp or sprayed upon theweb after its formation. The present invention may also be used withsoftener materials including, but not limited to, the class of amidoamine salts derived from partially neutralized amines. Such materialsare disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,383. Evans, Chemistry and Industry,5 Jul. 1969, pages 893-903; Egan, J. Am. Oil Chemist's Soc., Vol. 55(1978), pages 118-121; and Trivedi et al., J. Am. Oil Chemist's Soc.,June 1981, pages 754-756, incorporated by reference in their entireties,indicate that softeners are often available commercially only as complexmixtures rather than as single compounds. While the following discussionwill focus on the predominant species, it should be understood thatcommercially available mixtures would generally be used in practice.

Hercules® TQ 218 or an equivalent is a suitable softener material, whichmay be derived by alkylating a condensation product of oleic acid anddiethylenetriamine. Synthesis conditions using a deficiency ofalkylation agent (e.g., diethyl sulfate) and only one alkylating step,followed by pH adjustment to protonate the non-ethylated species, resultin a mixture consisting of cationic ethylated and cationic non-ethylatedspecies. A minor proportion (e.g., about 10%) of the resulting amidoamine cyclize to imidazoline compounds. Since only the imidazolineportions of these materials are quaternary ammonium compounds, thecompositions as a whole are pH-sensitive. Therefore, in the practice ofthe present invention with this class of chemicals, the pH in the headbox should be approximately 6 to 8, more preferably, from about 6 toabout 7 and, most preferably, from about 6.5 to about 7.

Quaternary ammonium compounds, such as dialkyl dimethyl quaternaryammonium salts, are also suitable, particularly when the alkyl groupscontain from about 10 to 24 carbon atoms. These compounds have theadvantage of being relatively insensitive to pH.

Biodegradable softeners can be utilized. Representative biodegradablecationic softeners/debonders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,312,522;5,415,737; 5,262,007; 5,264,082; and 5,223,096, all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Biodegradableester quats are suitable. These softeners are biodegradable by virtue ofhydrolyzable ester linkages and are usually made by esterifying ethanolamines (i.e., di- and tri-ethanolamines) with a fatty acid followed byquaternization with dimethyl sulfate, or, more popularly, because ofsafety, diethylsulfate. A methylated example of such an ester quat hasthe following structural formula:

wherein R can conveniently be either an oleyl group,CH₂(CH₂)₆CH═CH(CH₂)₇CH₃, or an erucyl group, CH₂(CH₂)₁₀CH═CH(CH₂)₇CH₃,as these can be derived from oleic and erucic acids. In someembodiments, a particularly preferred debonder composition includes aquaternary amine component as well as a nonionic surfactant.

The nascent web may be compactively dewatered on a papermaking felt. Anysuitable felt may be used. For example, felts can have double-layer baseweaves, triple-layer base weaves, or laminated base weaves. Preferredfelts are those having a laminated base weave design. A wet-press-feltthat may be particularly useful with the present invention is Vector 3made by Voith Fabric (Appleton, Wis.). Background art in the press feltarea includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,657,797; 5,368,696; 4,973,512; 5,023,132;5,225,269; 5,182,164; 5,372,876; and 5,618,612. A differential pressingfelt as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,437 to Curran et al. maylikewise be utilized.

The use of particular adhesives cooperates with a moderately moist web(25 to 70% consistency), to adhere it to the Yankee sufficiently, toallow for high velocity operation of the system and high jet velocityimpingement air drying and subsequent peeling of the web from theYankee. In this connection, a poly(vinyl alcohol)/polyamide adhesivecomposition as noted above is applied at any convenient location betweencleaning doctor and the nip between the sheet and Yankee as needed,preferably, at a rate of less than about 40 mg/m² of sheet.

Preferred Embodiments

As illustrated in FIG. 26, the process of producing high lignineucalyptus by pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping (APMP) consists of five main process steps:

1. Impregnation: Wood chips (or plant fibers) are compressed in a largescrew press and discharged into an inclined (atmospheric) impregnationvessel. The vessel contains a mixture of chelant, hydrogen peroxide andcaustic. The chemicals soften the chips and begin the bleaching process.

2. High Consistency Pressurized Refining: The impregnated chips drain asthey are lifted out of the impregnation vessel and are fed through ahigh consistency refiner. The refiner separates the chips intoindividual fibers and provides heat to drive the bleaching reactions.Hydrogen peroxide is injected into the refiner discharge to boost thebrightness. The hot pulp is discharged into an atmospheric tank andachieves full brightness after 30 to 90 minutes of retention.

3. Low consistency secondary refining: A final refining pass is done atlow consistency to develop the desired fiber properties and to completefiberization of any shives.

4. Shive Screening: The pulp is screened to separate shives from thefully individualized fibers. The rejects are fed back into the lowconsistency refiner to complete separation into individual fibers.

5. Washing: A tissue grade system would use three stages of presses toseparate residual bleaching chemicals and anionic trash formed in theprocess.

For further information concerning pre-conditioning refiner chemicalalkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP), see:

Xu, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0263815 A1,“Multi-Stage AP Mechanical Pulping With Refiner Blow Line Treatment”,Oct. 21, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,216,423; Herkel et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2010/0186910 A1, “Four Stage AlkalinePeroxide Mechanical Pulpings”, Jul. 29, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.8,048,263; Sabourin, U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2008/0066877 A1, “High Defiberization Pretreatment Process ForMechanical Refining”, Mar. 20, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,720;Herkel, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0200586 A1, “FourStage Alkaline Peroxide Mechanical Pulping”, Oct. 14, 2004; Sabourin,U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,400 B2, “High Defiberization Chip PretreatmentApparatus”, Feb. 22, 2011; Sabourin, U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,721 B2,“Pulping Process With High Defiberization Chip Pretreatment”, Jul. 20,2010; Sabourin, U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,541 B2, “High Defiberization ChipPretreatment”, Nov. 27, 2007; Sabourin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,791 B2,“Method Of Pretreating Lignocellulose Fiber-Containing Material In APulp Refining Process”, May 31, 2005; Xu, U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2004/0069427 A1, “Multi-Stage AP Mechanical Pulping WithRefiner Blow Line Treatment”, Apr. 15, 2004; and Xu et al.,International Publication No. WO 03/008703 A1, “Four Stage AlkalinePeroxide Mechanical Pulping”, Jan. 30, 2003.

Table 3A sets forth suitable process details for preparation ofeucalyptus APMP from eucalyptus chips for use in the present invention.

TABLE 3A Processing Conditions for eucalyptus APMP SAMPLE A1 A2 A3 A4 A5FURNISH I1 A1 A1 A1 A1 kWh/ODMT APPLIED PASS 584 87 181 301 322 Total655 742 836 1137 1158 Total Alkalinity % Impregnation 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.11.1 Refiner 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 Total Applied 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7Residual 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.51 Net 6.23 6.23 6.23 6.23 6.19 HydrogenPeroxide % Impregnation 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Refiner 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6Total Applied 10.7 10.7 10.7 10.7 10.7 Residual 4.57 4.57 4.57 4.57 3.33Net 6.13 6.13 6.13 6.13 7.37 FREENESS (CSF) 577 474 427 344 335 DENSITY0.27 0.3 0.27 0.34 0.36 BULK (cm³/g) 3.69 3.28 3.68 2.92 2.81 BURSTINDEX (kPa · m²/g) 0.59 0.84 1.07 1.47 1.44 TEAR INDEX (mN · m²/g) 3.74.5 4.7 4.8 4.9 TENSILE INDEX (N · m/g) 16 23.7 28.3 34.6 38 BreakingLength km 1.6 2.4 2.9 3.5 3.9 % STRETCH 0.86 1.13 1.33 1.52 1.65 TEA(J/m²) 4.81 9.33 13.38 19.04 22.92 ABSORPTION COEFF. (m) 0.21 0.2 0.20.21 0.22 % OPACITY 80.7 81.1 82.5 82.9 83.5 SCATT. COEFF. (m²/kg) 4748.2 52 52.8 54 ISO BRIGHTNESS 85.6 85.9 85.8 86 85.4 % SHIVES(PULMAC-0.10 mm) 12.34 6.98 4 0.78 0.68 LENGTH WEIGHTED AVG LNG (mm)0.893 0.845 0.831 0.782 0.762 ARITHMETIC AVG. LENGTH (mm) 0.455 0.4460.446 0.451 0.447 WGT WEIGHTED AVG LNG(mm) 1.87 1.57 1.54 1.22 1.12AVERAGE WIDTH(pm) 32.7 31.91 31.23 29.46 29.15 SURFACE AREA (m²) 11551060 1305 1371 1592 FIBER % ON 14 MESH 10.1 5.9 3.2 1.1 0.9 CLASS % ON28 MESH 15.1 14.4 11.5 5.3 4.7 % ON 48 MESH 26.4 29.8 31.3 34.7 33.4 %ON 100 MESH 20.8 20.8 22 25.4 24.2 % ON 200 MESH 14 13.8 14.4 16.6 15.9% THRU 200 MESH 13.6 15.3 17.6 16.9 20.9 +28 MESH 25.2 20.3 14.7 6.4 5.6SAMPLE A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 FURNISH I1 A6 A6 A6 A6 kWh/ODMT APPLIED 576 78140 187 226 647 725 787 974 1013 Total Alkalinity % Impregnation 1.1 1.11.1 1.1 1.1 Refiner 10 10 10 10 10 Total Applied 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.111.1 Residual 2.01 2.01 2.01 2.01 2.94 Net 9.09 9.09 9.09 9.09 8.16Hydrogen Peroxide % Impregnation 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Refiner 11.9 11.911.9 11.9 11.9 Total Applied 13 13 13 13 13 Residual 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.920.74 Net 12.08 12.08 12.08 12.08 12.26 FREENESS (CSF) 541 448 396 317307 DENSITY 0.36 0.38 0.41 0.46 0.47 BULK (cm³/g) 2.78 2.62 2.43 2.152.11 BURST INDEX (kPa · m²/g) 1.1 1.6 1.99 2.38 2.73 TEAR INDEX (mN ·m²/g) 5.9 6.6 6.1 6.1 6 TENSILE INDEX (N · m/g) 28.7 36.7 42.2 52.6 55Breaking Length km 2.9 3.7 4.3 5.4 5.6 % STRETCH 1.21 1.49 1.7 2.07 2.34TEA (J/m²) 12.56 19.47 25.92 39.63 49.01 ABSORPTION COEFF. (m) 0.28 0.270.23 0.25 0.25 % OPACITY 79.7 79.9 80.6 80.2 80.8 SCATT. COEFF. (m²/kg)42.7 45.3 46.7 45.8 46.2 ISO BRIGHTNESS 84.9 85.4 85.2 84.8 84.7 %SHIVES (PULMAC-0.10 mm) 11.84 5.54 2.68 1.08 0.78 LENGTH WEIGHTED AVGLNG (mm) 0.806 0.813 0.84 0.784 0.772 ARITHMETIC AVG. LENGTH (mm) 0.4550.448 0.447 0.453 0.452 WGT WEIGHTED AVG LNG(mm) 1.3 1.37 1.65 1.19 1.2AVERAGE WIDTH(pm) 31.07 32.15 29.52 29.05 SURFACE AREA (m²) 1467 12771045 1629 1465 FIBER % ON 14 MESH 9.2 4.7 3.1 0.8 0.6 CLASS % ON 28 MESH16 13 11.4 6.4 4.7 % ON 48 MESH 27.1 29.6 34 35.2 35.6 % ON 100 MESH21.1 22 23.7 24.3 25 % ON 200 MESH 13.1 14.1 14.6 16.2 16.2 % THRU 200MESH 13.5 16.6 13.2 17.1 17.9 +28 MESH 25.2 17.7 14.5 7.2 5.3

Wet strength tissues of the present invention are obtained by well knowntissue making technologies including conventional wet press (CWP),through-air drying (TAD) and uncreped through-air drying (UCTAD) alongwith known variants thereof. Techniques in which the fibers arerearranged on a transfer surface to reorder the fiber orientation or toproduce variable basis weight products are not required in the practiceof the invention of this application, but are rather, the subject of aseparate U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/457,991, filed onJul. 28, 2011, entitled “High Softness, High Durability Bath Tissue withTemporary Wet Strength”, Miller et al, which has been converted intoU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/548,600, filed on Jul. 13, 2012.

Bath tissue of the present invention preferably comprises cellulosicfibers chosen from the group consisting of chemically pulped fibers andmechanically pulped fibers, and from about 5 to about 50% by weight ofeucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about 15% byweight, more preferably, from about 10 to about 50% by weight ofeucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% byweight, more preferably, having a lignin content of at least about 21%by weight, and most preferably, from about 3 to about 10% by weight ofregenerated cellulosic microfiber. Typically, paper making fibers usefulin the present invention include cellulosic fibers commonly known aswood pulp fibers. Applicable wood pulps include chemical pulps, such askraft, sulfite and sulfate pulps, as well as mechanical pulps including,groundwood, thermomechanical pulp, chemically modified, and the like.Chemical pulps may be used in tissue embodiments, since they are knownto those of skill in the art to impart a superior tactile sense ofsoftness to tissue sheets made therefrom. Pulps derived from deciduoustrees (hardwood) and/or coniferous trees (softwood) can be utilizedherein. Such hardwood and softwood fibers can be blended or deposited inlayers to provide a stratified web. Additionally, fibers derived fromwood pulp, such as cotton linters, bagasse, and the like, can be used.Additionally, fibers derived from recycled paper, which may contain anyof all of the categories, as well as other non-fibrous materials, suchas fillers and adhesives used to manufacture the original paper productmay be used in the present web.

In one embodiment, particularly, if a two-ply structure is being formed,the plies of the multi-ply fibrous structure may be the same basesheetformulation or the plies may comprise differing basesheets combined tocreate desired consumer benefits. In one embodiment, the fibrousstructures comprise two plies of substantially identical tissuebasesheets. In a preferred embodiment, the fibrous structure comprises afirst ply, a second ply, and at least one inner ply, as shown in FIG. 4hereof. A particularly preferred construction is that shown U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2009/0297781 in the name of Richard D. Husset al., entitled “Ultra Premium Bath Tissue”, published Dec. 3, 2009. Inmany embodiments of the present invention, the web has a plurality ofembossments formed therein. In one embodiment, the embossment pattern isapplied only to two plies that are bonded either by knurling or gluelamination to a third ply that is either unembossed, or far more lightlyembossed than the other two. In such structures, the points of theembossed structure of the two embossed sheets are usually in contactwith the unembossed or lightly embossed backing sheet, as shown inDwiggins, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,768 discussed below. Often, suchstructures are referred to as having “points to the inside”. In anotherembodiment, the fibrous structure product is a two-ply product whereinboth plies comprise a plurality of embossments, either in a nestedstructure or a point to point structure. Nested products are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,614 to Giesler et al., “High Softness EmbossedTissue” issued Jul. 2, 2002. Variation or combination of therigid-to-resilient and/or rigid-to-rigid embossing processes are wellunderstood by the skilled artisan and could be appropriately used inconjunction with the present invention. For example, nested embossing,point-to-point embossing, and multi-nip embossing processes are alsowithin those configurations appropriate for use with the presentinvention. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,093,068; 5,091,032;5,269,983 and 5,030,081 to Galyn A. Schulz.

In one embodiment, the fibrous structure product comprises two or moreplies of fibrous structure wherein at least one of the plies has aplurality of embossments thereon comprising an embossment height fromabout 600 μm to about 1,200 μm, in another embodiment, from about 700 μmto about 1,100 μm, and the backing roll is either lightly embossed orunembossed, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,768 to Dwiggins et al.,entitled “Soft Bulky Multi-Ply Product and Method of Making Same”,issued May 24, 2005. The multi-ply fibrous structure product may be inroll form. When in roll form, the multi-ply fibrous structure productmay be wound about a core or may be wound without a core.

A particular advantage to the use of eucalyptus APMP is the highbrightness attainable therewith. In another preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the eucalyptus fibers will both have a lignin contentof at least about 23% and exhibit an ISO brightness of at least about82. In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, theeucalyptus fibers will both have a lignin content of at least about 21%and exhibit an ISO brightness of at least about 80. This makes itpossible to obtain outstanding brightness of the tissue product itselfwhich is, of course, what the customer sees. When using a recycle pulpthat has been properly de-inked, the tissue roll itself can exhibit anISO brightness of:0.82×(%Virgin chemical pulp)+0.795×(%recycle fiber)^(0.98)+0.84×(%APMPEuc).

Another aspect of the present invention concerns an improved method ofmanufacturing bath tissue or facial tissue by depositing a furnishcomprising cellulosic fibers on a translating foraminous support to forma nascent web that is thereafter dewatered and dried, wherein thecellulosic furnish comprises from 50% to 90% cellulosic papermakingfibers chosen from the group consisting of chemically pulped fibers andmechanically pulped fibers, from about 3 to about 30% by weight ofregenerated cellulosic microfiber, and from about 10% to about 50% highlignin eucalyptus fibers, the high lignin eucalyptus fibers having alignin content of at least about 20%, an ISO brightness of at leastabout 84, a Canadian standard freeness (CSF) freeness of at least about400 ml, a bulk of between 2.2 and 4.2 cc/g, and a breaking length ofbetween about 1.2 and 4.7 km. In a more preferred embodiment, aparticularly well performing mid-grade bath tissue can be prepared froma furnish comprising from 50% to 90% cellulosic papermaking fiberschosen from the group consisting of chemically pulped fibers andmechanically pulped fibers and from about 5% to about 50% high lignineucalyptus fibers, the high lignin eucalyptus fibers having a lignincontent of at least about 23%, an ISO brightness of at least about 83, aCSF of at least about 400 ml, a bulk of between 2.2 and 4.2 cc/g, and abreaking length of between about 1.2 and 4.7 km.

A preferred wet strength bath tissue comprises from 50% to 90%cellulosic papermaking fibers chosen from the group consisting ofchemically pulped fibers and mechanically pulped fibers, from about 3 toabout 30% by weight of regenerated cellulosic microfiber and from about10% to about 50% high lignin eucalyptus fibers having a Kappa number ofat least about 150. A preferred wet strength tissue of the presentinvention incorporating a fair amount of recycle tissue and having abasis weight of from about 10 to about 17 lbs per ply per 3000 sq ftream, a specific geometric mean tensile of between about 35 and 45 g/3in. per pound of basis weight and a specific eight sheet caliper ofbetween about 3 to about 3.5 mils per ply per 8 sheets per pound ofbasis weight will comprise about 40 to 55% recycle fiber, from about 25to about 40% eucalyptus kraft fiber, from about 3 to about 30% by weightof regenerated cellulosic microfiber and about 15-30% high lignineucalyptus fibers, the high lignin eucalyptus fibers having a lignincontent of at least about 20.

An even more preferred wet strength bath tissue, having a basis weightof from about 11 to about 17 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, a specificgeometric mean tensile of between about 35 and 45 g/3 in. per pound ofbasis weight and a specific eight sheet caliper of between about 3 toabout 3.5 mils per 8 sheets per pound of basis weight, comprises about25 to about 40% softwood kraft fiber, from about 40 to about 60%hardwood kraft fiber, from about 3 to about 10% by weight of regeneratedcellulosic microfiber, and about 15 to about 30% high lignin eucalyptusfibers having a lignin content of at least about 20%. In many cases,this wet strength bath tissue will have an MD stretch of between about20 and 30%.

A mid- or an economy-grade bath tissue of the present invention willcomprise from at least about 10% to about 90% by weight of recycled pulpfibers and from about 10% to about 40% by weight of never-dried alkalineperoxide bleached eucalyptus fibers having a coarseness of at leastabout 9.0 mg/100 m, a Kappa number of at least about 80 and an ISObrightness of at least about 82, the cellulosic tissue having ageometric mean breaking modulus of no more than about 75 g/%, a basisweight of least about 22 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream and an MD stretch of atleast about 11%. An even higher performing tissue will substitute kraftfiber for the recycle fiber, either entirely or in part. Preferably, theeucalyptus fiber is prepared from eucalyptus chips by alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping (APMP), even more preferably, the eucalyptus fiberwill be prepared from eucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refinerchemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping and, more preferably, willhave a lignin content of at least about 20%, an ISO brightness of atleast about 84, a CSF freeness of at least about 400 ml, a bulk ofbetween 2.2 and 4.2 cc/g, and a breaking length of between about 1.2 and4.7 km.

Comparative Example 1

For purposes of comparison, base sheets having the compositions andproperties as set out in Table 4 were manufactured on a low speed pilotmachine using conventional wet press technology, then converted as setforth in Table 5 into multi-ply products having physical properties, asset forth in Table 6.

TABLE 4 basesheet Varisoft Caliper Basis GP-C 8 Sheet Weight MD MD CDFJ98, debonder, mils/ lb/3000 Tensile Stretch Tensile Sample Desc.Marathon CMF lb/ton lb/t 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. 30.1 4882-28 50 5020 0 29.5 9.1 2024 28.5 831 31-1 4882-29 50 50 20 3 26.5 9.3 2045 27.6744 32-1 4882-30 50 50 20 3 27.4 9.8 2284 29.5 851 33-1 4882-31 50 50 203 29.0 10.1 2248 28.3 927 34-1 base 4882-32 50 50 20 6 26.7 8.1 148727.1 573 35-1 base 4882-33 50 50 20 6 26.4 8.9 1659 28.9 604 36-1 base4882-34 50 50 20 6 27.7 9.5 1787 27.2 706 37.1 base 4882-35 50 50 23 722.8 7.0 882 25.7 462 38-1 base 4882-36 50 50 23 7 23.4 7.0 1036 27.2444 39.1 base 4882-37 50 50 23 7 24.7 7.0 989 27.8 444 CD Wet Tensile GMCD MD CD MD CD GM Finch Break TEA TEA Break Break Stretch Tensile Cured-Modulus mm-g/ mm-g/ Mod. Mod. Sample % g/3 in. g/3 in. g/% mm² mm² g/%g/% Wet/Dry 30.1 7.7 1296 164 91 0.503 2.772 111 74 0.20 31-1 7.1 1233180 88 0.420 2.305 104 74 0.24 32-1 6.8 1393 216 100 0.442 2.669 127 790.25 33-1 7.9 1444 235 97 0.568 2.591 118 80 0.25 34-1 base 7.4 921 15467 0.327 1.803 BO 56 0.27 35-1 base 8.0 1000 177 68 0.379 1.876 BO 590.29 36-1 base 8.2 1121 157 73 0.472 2.062 82 65 0.22 37.1 base 8.1 649125 44 0.314 1.215 58 34 0.26 38-1 base 7.5 677 114 48 0.250 1.329 59 390.26 39.1 base 8.8 662 105 42 0.315 1.265 51 35 0.24 Varisoft GP-C is animidazolinium type softener.

TABLE 5 Data for Basesheet incorporated into Converted Product 8 SheetBasis Caliper Weight MD MD CD CD GM CD Wet GM Break FQA Fiber mils/lb/3000 Tensile Stretch Tensile Stretch Tensile Tensile Modulus CountDescription 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. % g/3 in. g/3 in. g/% NumberCondition 4882 - 32 26.7 8.1 1487 27.1 573 7.4 921 206 66.8 435 1 4882 -33 26.3 8.9 1659 28.9 604 8.0 1000 165 68.4 494 4882 - 34 27.7 9.5 178727.2 706 8.2 1121 201 72.8 468 Average 26.9 8.8 1644 27.7 627 7.9 1014190 69.3 466 Condition 4882 - 35 22.8 7.0 882 25.7 482 8.1 649 138 44.0383 2 4882 - 36 23.4 7.0 1036 27.2 444 7.5 677 123 47.9 363 4882 - 3724.7 7.00 989 27.8 444 8.8 662 132 42.3 305 Average 23.6 7.0 969 26.9456 8.1 663 131 44.7 350

When tested for physical properties, Dry Linting and Wet AbrasionResistance, as set forth above, the results set forth in Table 6 wereobtained:

TABLE 6 Base Sheet Base Sheet Condition 1 Condition 2 Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell3 Cell 4 Description 2-Ply 3-Ply 2-Ply 3-Ply Basis Weight (lbs/ream)17.14 26.11 13.93 20.45 Caliper (mils/8 sheets) 60.28 108.00 55.58 88.41MD Dry Tensile (g/3 in.) 2198 3528 1384 2507 CD Dry Tensile (g/3 in.)1069 1662 793 1133 Geometric Mean Tensile (g/3 in.) 1533 2420 1047 1683MD Stretch (%) 16.70 19.14 16.74 18.94 CD Stretch (%) 7.43 7.47 7.598.35 Perforation Tensile (g/3 in.) 866 1380 652 972 Wet Tensile (g/3in.) 311 477 213 332 GM Break Modulus (g/% strain) 137.56 202.50 93.92134.23 MB 3100 Brightness (%) 92.12 92.25 92.15 91.71 MB 3100 b* 2.262.35 2.06 2.34 Opacity 73.98 82.39 67.12 76.09 Wet Abrasion FQA LintCount 500 495 346 444 Dry Lint L* Difference −0.26 −0.37 −0.43 −0.43 TMIFric GMMMD 4 Scan-W 0.47 0.49 0.38 0.49 Unitless Sensory Softness 17.2217.61 18.29 18.47

Dry Lint: No data is shown in Table 4 for dry linting of the base sheetsas the finished product. Dry-lint metrics as shown in Table 6 are allnegative, indicating that the lint on the black felt was under thenon-detect limit of the scanner. If it is taken that no dry lint wasobserved for the finished product, then it is extremely likely that thelint from the base sheets would similarly be under the detection limit.

Comparative Example 2

Based upon the results from Example 1, it was determined to evaluatewhether product designs satisfying the criteria of low lint, highsoftness, and dispersibility could be achieved using 20 to 50% CMF, 3 to7 lb/t FJ98, and 7 to 8.5 lb/ream basis weight.

It was further determined that three-ply glue lamination was anunexpectedly good converting configuration for CMF sheets, asunexpectedly high caliper was obtained out of low basis weight sheets.Accordingly, basesheets were made having the properties set forth inTable 7 using CWP technology. When converted into finished three-plyglue laminated rolls as set forth in Table 8, the products had thephysical properties set forth in Table 9. While these products achievesignificantly improved levels of softness, strength and resistance tolinting, whether wet or dry, it can be appreciated that none of thosepresented so far has met the ultimate goal of producing a tissue that isas soft as the softest available commercial tissues, but has sufficientresistance to wet linting to be usable pre-moistened.

TABLE 7 Basesheet Properties Cured- Wet 8 Sheet Tensile GM Caliper B WMD CD Finch Disp. GM Break mils/ lb/3000 Tensile MD Tensile CD CD # ofTensile Modulus Cell Roll Cell CMF FJ98 BW SW 8 sht ft² g/3 in. Stretchg/3 in. Stretch g/3 in. Shakes g/3 in. g/% 3 4885-12 4 25 4 9 50 30.09.2 775 26.5 384 5.3 98 800 545 47 4885-13 4 25 4 9 50 31.5 9.4 834 23.2384 4.9 104 800 563 53 4885-14 4 25 4 9 50 28.7 8.7 716 24.8 340 5.8 95800 493 41 Average 30.1 9.1 775 24.8 369 5.3 99 800 534 47 4 4885-33 750 4 9 50 27.8 8.06 658 25.3 349 6.8 76 479 37 4885-34 7 50 4 9 50 29.98.74 905 27.8 386 6.8 83 500 591 42 4885-35 7 50 4 9 50 32.6 9.76 107427.6 423 6.1 95 600 673 51 Average 30.1 8.9 879 26.9 386 6.6 84 550 58143

TABLE 8 Cell Front Roll Middle Roll Back Roll 3 4885-12 4885-13 4885-144 4885-34 4885-33 4885-35

TABLE 9 Converted Product Basis CD Wet Break Lint Weight Caliper MD CDMD CD Tensile Modulus Softness Dispersibility Black Felt lb/3000 mils/Tensile Tensile Stretch Stretch Finch GM Description Panel # of ShakesUnitless ft² 8 sht g/3 in. g/3 in. % % g/3 in. g/% Cell 3, 3-ply 18.7713 1.92 24.9 164 1011 672 11.8 7.0 140 92 Cell 3, 3-ply 18.7 663 1.7325.1 158 1063 651 13.0 6.5 149 90 Cell 4, 3-ply 18.6 788 0.35 24.4 1601645 848 15.2 9.3 156 100  Cell 4, 3-ply 18.6 800 0.12 23.4 154 1478 84415.6 9.1 157 97 Cell 3 Average 18.7 688 1.83 25.0 161 1037 662 12.4 6.8144 91 Cell 4 Average 18.6 794 0.24 23.9 157 1561 846 15.4 9.2 156 98FQA FQA Opacity TMI Void Break Break TEA TEA FQA Fiber Fine MacBeth PlyVolume Modulus Modulus Void MD CD Fiber Length Length Opacity Bond. WtInc MD CD Volume mm-gm/ mm-gm Count L_(w) L_(w) Units g % g/% g/% Ratiomm² mm² Number mm % Cell 3, 3-ply 79 10.9 1,353 88 97 7.2 0.76 0.37 24080.80 9.0 Cell 3, 3-ply 80 6.5 1,399 82 99 7.4 0.94 0.33 2011 0.79 9.1Cell 4, 3-ply 82 7.6 1,399 108 93 6.9 1.65 0.61 1563 0.64 17.7 Cell 4,3-ply 82 9.5 1,373 98 95 7.3 1.21 0.60 2985 0.78 10.4 Cell 3 Average 798.7 1376 85 98 7.3 0.85 0.35 2209 0.80 9.0 Cell 4 Average 82 8.5 1386103 94 7.1 1.43 0.60 2274 0.71 14.0

Table 10 shows a comparison of converted low-lint CWP CMF containingproducts with an ultra-premium retail tissue, Assignees's QuiltedNorthern Ultra Plush® and a competitive product, Charmin® Ultra Strong.Three-ply CWP products with CMF were able to at least slightly surpassthe performance of Charmin® Ultra Strong in several ways: higher bulk,higher wet strength, higher opacity, and much lower lint achieving theseadvantages at equal weight and softness. The softness difference,however, is not sufficiently large that it is entirely certain that thedifference could be replicated in subsequent panels testing the sameproducts. It is clear, however, that the softness of the CMF containingprotocepts was significantly inferior to that of Quilted Northern UltraPlush® even though their bulk, wet and dry strength, opacity and Tintingwere improved.

TABLE 10 Comparison of Converted Product Previous low-lint QuiltedCharmin ® protocept Current Current Northern Ultra Comparative 25% CMF50% CMF Ultra Plush ® Strong Example 1 Protocept Protocept CMF, %  50 2550 SW, %  50 37.5 25 Euc, %   0 37.5 25 FJ98, lb/t  20 4 4 Basesheet BW,lb/Ream 12-12.5   7 9 9 Emboss HVS-9 knurl HVS-9 HVS-9 Caliper mils/8sheet 144 140  88 161 157 Caliper, cc/g 7.8 11.4    8.4 12.6 12.9 VoidVolume, % increase 1,301 1,376 1,386 Basis Weight, lb/3000 ft² 36 23.9   20.4 25.0 23.9 MDDT, g/3 in. 1200 1,373 2507 1,037 1561 MD str, %16.56    18.9 12.4 15.4 CDDT, g/3 in. 450 699 1133 662 846 CD Str, %11.1    8.4 6.8 9.2 CDWT, g/3 in. 40 79  332 144 156 GMT, g/3 in. 735980 1685 828 1149 GM Break Modulus, 59 73  134 91 98 Opacity 77 67 79 82Softness 20.0 18.6    18.5 18.7 18.6 Dispersibility, # of Shakes <700 2000+ 688 794 Dry Lint (Delta L*) 10.2 3.0    −0.4 1.8 0.24 Wet Lint(Fiber Count) 15000 8,480  444 2209 2274

Example 1

We have found that we can get suprisingly good softness, bulk and wetproperties using eucalyptus APMP, either without, or in conjunctionwith, relatively low contents of CMF, even in CWP products. Accordingly,it is evident that eucalyptus APMP can be substituted into theformulations described elsewhere in this application to providesignificant benefit.

Pulps were distributed from tanks according to Table 11. The strategyfor the outer plies was to make a Yankee layer with kraft pulp and gooddurability with a layer of high-bulk APMP or other integrated furnish.The middle ply was homogeneously formed with a high (65%) percentage ofAPMP to maximize bulk or 100% southern kraft. P6 high bulk APMP was usedfor outer plies, and P3 APMP was used for the middle ply. Marathon NBSK.was unrefined. The source of eucalyptus was Votorantin Celulose e Papel(VCP) aka Fibria, Sao Paolo, Brazil.

TABLE 11 Stratified Tank 1, Air layer Tank 3, Yankee layer Total CellB.W. Pulp B.W Pulp BW Purpose 1 3.9 P6 APMP 7.1 50/50 Mar./Euc. 11 Outerplies 2 4.4 P6 APMP 8.2 50/50 Mar./Euc. 12.6 Outer plies 3 4.5 P6 APMP6.5 18/41/41 CMF/Mar./Euc. 11 Outer plies 7 3.9 40/60 P3 APMP/Fibria 7.115/42/43 CMF/Mar./Euc. 11 Outer plies 8 5.5 50/50SSWK/SHWK 7.1 15/42/43CMF/Mar./Euc. 12.6 Outer plies 9 6.2 50/50 SSWK/SHWK 6.2 20% CMF/80%Euc. Kraft 12.4 Outer plies Homogeneous Cell B.W. Pulp Purpose 4 12.665/35 P3 APMP/Mar. Middle ply 5 11 65/35 P3 APMP/Mar. Middle ply 6 12.650/50 SSWK/SHWK Middle ply 10  50/50 SSWK/SHWK Middle ply, No FJ 98 Mar.= Marathon NBSK

Nalkat® 2020 was added as an “anionic trash killer” at 5 lb/ton APMP.This was done to prevent trash from poorly washed pilot APMP frominterfering with retention of temporary wet strength. GP-C debonder wasadded to the static mixer at 3 lb/ton APMP. The pH of each of tanks T1and T3 was adjusted to 5.0 to 5.5 with sulfuric acid to optimizeretention of temporary wet strength. FJ98 (temporary wet strength) wasadded into the pump suction at 6 lb/ton kraft pulp. GP-C was added at 3lb/ton of APMP eucalyptus in the Yankee layer just before the fan pump.

All sheets for outer plies were calendered and had a GMT target of 350g/3 in. and a cross-direction wet tensile (CDWT) target of 40 g/3 in.Sheets for middle plies were uncalendered and creped with a 10 degreebevel blade. Tensile control was achieved by increasing FJ98 orincreasing debonder as necessary. 25% reel crepe was used for allbasesheets. A 15° crepe blade was used for outer plies. In some cases,use of creping adhesive was unnecessary, so water alone could be appliedthrough the Yankee spray as sufficient adhesion for satisfactory crepingwas provided by FJ98 and the hemicellulose remaining in the eucalyptusAPMP. In other cases when debonder in the sheet interfered withadhesion, it was desirable to apply about 0.25 to 0.5 lb/ton PAE coatingto the Yankee. A sheet temperature 230° F. was targeted. Only Yankeesteam (no hood) was necessary for drying.

Method of Analysis

Results set forth in Table 12 were obtained when converted into finishedproduct and evaluated for basis weight, caliper, wet and dry tensiles,softness, wet and dry lint and dispersibility. FIG. 4 sets forth adesirable design for a three ply bath tissue 4-10 product utilizingeucalyptus APMP, in which upper ply 4-12, comprising two strata 4-14 and4-16, in which upper stratum 4-14 comprising 50% Northern Bleachedsoftwood kraft fiber and 50% by weight of Eucalyptus kraft has a basisweight of about 7.1 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, lower stratum 4-16,comprising 100% P6 eucalyptus APMP, has a basis weight of 3.9 lbs per3000 sq ft ream, while interior ply 4-18, comprising 65% P3 APMP and 35%by weight of northern bleached softwood kraft, has a basis weight of 11lbs/ream, while lower ply 4-20, comprising two strata 4-22 and 4-24, inwhich lower stratum 4-24, comprising 50% northern bleached softwoodkraft fiber and 50% by weight of eucalyptus kraft, has a basis weight ofabout 7.1 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, and upper stratum 4-22, comprising100% P6 eucalyptus APMP, has a basis weight of 3.9 lbs per 3000 sq ftream. In many cases, it will be preferable to substitute furnishescomprising about 20% CMF, 40% eucalyptus kraft and 40% northern bleachedsoftwood kraft fiber, for 50% northern bleached softwood kraft fiber and50% by weight of eucalyptus kraft in the above. It can be observed thatupper ply 4-12 and interior ply 4-18 have been embossed together, whilelower ply 4-20 is relatively planar and is preferably unembossed.

Table 12 summarizes the properties of CWP prototypes made having astructure like that illustrated in FIG. 4. When “knurl” is indicated inthe converting column, interior ply 4-18 was joined to lower ply 4-20 byknurling in a meandering path. When “glue” is indicated in theconverting column, the plies were joined to each other by gluelamination. Note that the last two rows provide a comparison to QuiltedNorthern Ultra Plush® bath tissue and prototypes made using a newertechnology in which a nascent web is creped off of a transfer cylinderat between 30 and 60% consistency. Table 13 sets forth detailsconcerning the structure of each glue laminated product, while Tables13A to 13G set forth further details of the physical properties of thefinished products and basesheets, the finished product composition, theconverting parameters used for of each of the finished glue laminatedproducts. Tables 14A to 14D do the same for the knurled products. Tables15 to 17 delineate the properties and construction of CWP sheets madeusing a high bulk birch pulp, somewhat similar to APMP Eucalyptus.

TABLE 12 Summary of CWP prototypes. Basis weight, Caliper, GMT, lb/3000mil/ g/3 CD Wet, Dry Lint, Wet lint, Dispersibility, Item Descriptionft² 8 sht in. Softness g/3 in. ΔL* mm² #shakes Converting 1 High-bulkmechanical 27.0 131 888 19.7 193 0.4 2-ply, HVS9 HW w/CMF knurl 2High-bulk mechanical 37.7 174 899 20.0 192 −0.1 2-ply, HVS9 HW w/CMFknurl 3 High durable no cmf 27.0 101 2405 17.5 342 0.2 1 3-ply, U19lines, glue 4 Med durable no cmf 28.1 95 2076 18.1 267 0.9 7 3-ply, U19lines, glue 5 Less durable no cmf 28.4 105 1495 18.5 193 1.9 12 3-ply,U19 lines, glue 6 Less durable 20% cmf 26.7 95 2034 17.8 229 0.8 33-ply, U19 lines, glue 7 High durable 20% cmf 27.2 96 2633 17.2 382 0.21 3-ply, U19 lines, glue 8 Euc APMP 33% 38.5 145 902 19.1 85 6.0 193-ply, U19 lines, glue 9 Euc APMP 50% 30.5 112 731 18.9 59 5.6 28 2-ply,U19 lines, glue 10 Euc APMP 60% 38.8 145 850 18.2 60 5.9 24 2-ply, U19lines, glue 11 Euc APMP 44% 33.7 152 982 19.3 90 2.1 11 688 3-ply, U19,glue 12 Euc APMP 44% 36.3 160 1018 19.4 116 4.3 15 1450 3-ply, U19, glue13 Euc APMP 49%, 7% 32.7 148 835 19.3 92 2.6 4 575 3-ply, U19, glue CMF14 Euc APMP 49%, 7% 32.5 146 1035 19.1 130 0.6 2 838 3-ply, U19, glueCMF 15 Euc APMP 31%, 6% 32.4 139 1005 19.1 108 1.7 6 975 3-ply, U19,glue CMF 16 Southern 62%, 6% CMF 36.7 147 1165 19.3 101 1.5 6 20003-ply, U19, glue 17 Integrated 57% 34.3 154 737 20.0 72 2.4 66 8753-ply, HVS9 knurl 18 Integrated 57% 35.1 160 619 20.4 73 5.0 22 10003-ply, HVS9 knurl 19 Euc APMP 49%, 7% 31.0 146 765 19.8 100 1.1 18 8503-ply, HVS9 CMF knurl 20 Euc APMP 49%, 7% 32.1 148 953 19.8 126 0.7 31450 3-ply, HVS9 CMF knurl 21 Euc APMP 33%, 6% 32.7 143 888 19.6 100 2.010 1025 3-ply, HVS9 CMF knurl 22 Southern 63%, 6% CMF 36.7 148 954 19.899 1.9 8 2000 3-ply, HVS9 knurl 23 Southern 65%, 7% Pilot 35.8 150 78820.1 68 3.8 13 2000 3-ply, HVS9 CMF knurl 24 Southern 65%, 7% Pilot 35.0150 823 20.1 89 2.7 11 2000 3-ply, HVS9 CMF knurl Comparatives FRBC/Belt171 P3403G 26.3 145 932 19.3 113 5.4 30 600 Quilted NorthernUltraPlush ® 37.0 148 773 20.0 40 3-ply, HVS9 knurl

TABLE 13 Basesheet data for 3 Ply U19/glue lamination prototypes Base-CD Wet sheet Caliper Basis Tensile GM CD MD De- 8 Sheet Weight MD MD CDCD GM Finch Break Break Break Sam- Conv. PM scrip- mils/ Ib/3000 TensileStretch Tensile Stretch Tensile Cured Modulus Modulus Modulus ple Cellcell tion 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. % g/3 in. g/3 in. gms/% gms/%gms/%  4-1 1 1 0110-4  49.1 11.4 386 28.5 284 4.7 331 23 29 60 14 32-1 15 0110-31 64.6 11.5 476 31.1 260 4.3 351 54 29 55 16  5-1 1 1 0110-5 47.3 11.4 351 26.9 277 4.4 311 27 28 65 12 160.9 34.3 1214 28.8  821′4.45 993 104 29 60 14 10-1 2 2 0110-9  50.1 12.5 410 29.6 327 4.4 365 4232 72 14 27-1 2 4 0110-26 65.9 117 629 29.7 372 4.2 482 62 49 108 2211-1 2 2 0110-10 53.2 12.6 331 28.7 253 4.7 289 35 25 54 12 169.2 37.81369 29.3 952 4.45 1136 139 35 78 16 15-1 3 3A 0110-14 46.1 11.2 48332.2 316 5.1 391 44 32 69 15 31-1 3 5 0110-30 62.2 11.6 552 30.2 312 3.9415 48 38 80 18 16-1 3 3A 0110-15 48.5 110 381 30.9 264 4.7 317 34 27 6012 156.8 33.8 1416 31.1 893 4.54 1123 127 32 70 15 19-1 4 3B 0110-1845.8 10.9 472 29.8 365 4.9 415 66 34 74 16 26-1 4 4 0110-25 65.4 13.1757 29.3 435 3.8 574 74 56 120 26 20-1 4 3B 0110-19 46.0 10.9 491 30.8356 5.0 417 63 33 73 15 157.2 34.9 1719 29.9 1157  4.59 1406 202 41 8919 39-1 5 7 0110-38 43.7 11.7 462 29.8 313 5.8 380 47 28 50 15 30-1 5 50110-29 62.0 11.4 604 28.1 330 4.1 443 33 41 72 23 40-1 5 7 0110-39 41.110.8 383 29.3 285 5.1 330 42 27 56 13 146.8 33.9 1449 29.1 928 4.99 1154123 32 59 17 46-1 6 8 0110-45 45.0 12.5 539 28.9 318 5.6 413 39 32 57 1835-1 6 6 0110-34 63.0 12.8 322 35.9 268 5.5 293 31 21 47 9 47-1 6 80110-46 44.8 12.9 575 28.7 355 5.7 452 42 35 61 20 152.8 38.2 1436 31.1941 5.58 1157 112 29 55 15

TABLE 13A Basesheet data for 3 Ply U19/glue lamination prototypes WetBase- Tensile 11.2011- sheet Caliper Basis Finch Break Break Break 0039De- 8 Sheet Weight Tensile Stretch Tensile Stretch Tensile Cured-Modulus Modulus Modulus Sam- Conv. PM scrip- mils/ Ib/3000 MD MD CD CDGM CD GM CD MD ple Cell cell tion 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. % g/3 in.g/3 in. gms/% gms/% gms/%  4-1 1 1 0110-4  49.1 11.4 386 28.5 284 4.7331 23 29 60 14 32-1 1 5 0110-31 64.6 11.5 476 31.1 260 4.3 351 54 29 5516  5-1 1 1 0110-5  47.3 11.4 351 26.9 277 4.4 311 27 28 65 12 160.934.3 1214 28.8  821′ 4.45 993 104 29 60 14 10-1 2 2 0110-9  50.1 12.5410 29.6 327 4.4 365 42 32 72 14 27-1 2 4 0110-26 65.9 117 629 29.7 3724.2 482 62 49 108 22 11-1 2 2 0110-10 53.2 12.6 331 28.7 253 4.7 289 3525 54 12 169.2 37.8 1369 29.3 952 4.45 1136 139 35 78 16 15-1 3 3A0110-14 46.1 11.2 483 32.2 316 5.1 391 44 32 69 15 31-1 3 5 0110-30 62.211.6 552 30.2 312 3.9 415 48 38 80 18 16-1 3 3A 0110-15 48.5 110 38130.9 264 4.7 317 34 27 60 12 156.8 33.8 1416 31.1 893 4.54 1123 127 3270 15 19-1 4 3B 0110-18 45.8 10.9 472 29.8 365 4.9 415 66 34 74 16 26-14 4 0110-25 65.4 13.1 757 29.3 435 3.8 574 74 56 120 26 20-1 4 3B0110-19 46.0 10.9 491 30.8 356 5.0 417 63 33 73 15 157.2 34.9 1719 29.91157  4.59 1406 202 41 89 19 39-1 5 7 0110-38 43.7 11.7 462 29.8 313 5.8380 47 28 50 15 30-1 5 5 0110-29 62.0 11.4 604 28.1 330 4.1 443 33 41 7223 40-1 5 7 0110-39 41.1 10.8 383 29.3 285 5.1 330 42 27 56 13 146.833.9 1449 29.1 928 4.99 1154 123 32 59 17 46-1 6 8 0110-45 45.0 12.5 53928.9 318 5.6 413 39 32 57 18 35-1 6 6 0110-34 63.0 12.8 322 35.9 268 5.5293 31 21 47 9 47-1 6 8 0110-46 44.8 12.9 575 28.7 355 5.7 452 42 35 6120 152.8 38.2 1436 31.1 941 5.58 1157 112 29 55 15

TABLE 13B Finished product composition. Euc APMP SBHK SBSK NBSK EucKraft CMF 1 44.4 0.0 0.0 33.7 21.9 0.0 2 44.4 0.0 0.0 33.7 21.9 0.0 348.6 0.0 0.0 28.1 16.1 7.2 4 49.4 0.0 0.0 28.4 15.3 6.9 5 31.3 0.0 0.029.8 32.6 6.4   6A 0.0 31.2 31.2 15.8 16.1 5.6   6B 0.0 31.2 31.2 15.816.1 5.6

TABLE 13C Converting Parameters (U19/Glue) Emboss Sleeves: U19300-0436.2 HVS Sheet Length: 4.09 Plybond Adhesive: TT 3005, 5% solidsSheet Count: 200 Perf Blades: 1866 × 0.040 Cell Emboss Middle Roll #Back Roll # Marry Roll Nip # of logs/ ID Pen. Front Roll # EmbossedEmbossed Open/Closed Rolls Notes 1 0.052 Cell 1-4 Cell 5-31 Cell 1-5 16mm 12/24 2 0.052 Cell 2-9 Cell 4-26 Cell 2-10 16 mm  6/12 3 0.055 Cell3A-14 Cell 5-30 Cell 3A-15 16 mm 13/26 4 0.055 Cell 3B-18 Cell 4-25 Cell3B-19 16/32 Decreased marry roll nip width 5 0.052 Cell 7-38 Cell 5-29Cell 7-39 16/32   6A 0.052 Cell 8-45 Cell 6-34 Cell 8-46  6/12   6B0.045 Cell 8-45 Cell 6-34 Cell 8-46 10/20

TABLE 13D Glue Laminated Finished product - Physical Properties (pt. 1)Lint Basis Caliper CD Wet Table Wet Black Weight 8 Sheet MD CD GM MD CDTensile 23 Softness Abrasion, Felt lb/3000 mils/ Tensile Tensile TensileStretch Stretch Finch ref Description panel mm² Unitless ft² 8 sht g/3in. g/3 in. g/3 in. % % g/3 in. 1 3 High durable no cmf 17.5 1 0.2 27.0101 3,242 1,790 2,405 28.0 5.1 342 2 4 med durable no cmf 18.1 7 0.928.1 95 2,688 1,604 2,076 27.7 5.6 267 3 5 less durable no cmf 18.5 121.9 28.4 105 1,888 1,185 1,495 26.1 5.2 193 4 6 less durable 20% cmf17.8 3 0.8 26.7 95 2,899 1,428 2,034 28.1 6.3 229 5 7 High durable 20%cmf 17.2 1 0.2 27.2 96 3,727 1,862 2,633 28.9 6.2 382 6 8 33% AP MP (P6)19.1 19 6.0 38.5 145 1,105 738 902 19.8 4.7 85 7 9 50% AP MP (P6) 18.928 5.6 30.5 112 878 610 731 20.5 5.2 59 8 10 60% AP MP (P6) 18.2 24 5.938.8 145 1,040 698 850 19.0 4.7 60

TABLE 13E Glue Laminated Finished product - Physical Properties (pt. 2)TMI MD CD MD CD GM Break Brtness MacBeth Roll Roll Ply Break Break TEATEA Modulus MacBeth Opacity Diameter Compress Bond Modulus Modulus mm-g/mm-g/ Table Description g/% UV-C % Units in Value % g g/% g/% mm² mm²High durable no cmf 203 89.7 72 4.80 29.29 4.65 116 355 4.20 0.59 meddurable no cmf 166 89.8 72 4.32 19.10 5.14 96 287 3.66 0.59 less durableno cmf 129 89.8 73 4.55 19.33 20.69 73 230 2.61 0.40 less durable 20%cmf 151 91.6 80 4.26 17.84 8.63 104 220 3.44 0.60 High durable 20% cmf196 91.3 79 4.38 17.93 3.98 128 300 4.27 0.80 33% AP MP (P6) 92 87.8 824.91 21.40 9.54 56 153 1.46 0.23 50% AP MP (P6) 71 87.8 77 4.12 13.7311.80 43 118 1.24 0.22 60% APMP (P6) 89 86.6 83 4.71 16.88 10.96 55 1451.37 0.23

TABLE 13F Finished product composition for CWP sheets NBSK VCPEucalyptus Kraft Euc APMP P6 CMF 1 50 50 0 0 2 50 50 0 0 3 50 50 0 0 440 40 0 20 5 40 40 0 20 6 40 27 33 0 7 30 20 50 0 8 24 16 60 0

TABLE 13G Glue Laminated Finished product - Physical Properties (pt. 1)Wet Lint Basis 8 Sheet Table Abrasion Black Weight Caliper MD CD GM MD23 Softness Dispersibility, Tissue Felt lb/3000 mils/ Tensile TensileTensile Stretch ileStretch Description ref Panel #shakes mm² Unitlessft² 8 sht g/3 in. g/3 in. g/3 in. % % 1 11 19.33 688 11.0 2.1 33.7 1521,280 756 982 22.2 5.1 2 12 19.35 1450 15.1 4.3 36.3 160 1,169 886 1,01821.7 4.9 3 13 19.31 575 3.9 2.6 32.7 148 1,019 688 835 20.3 5.2 4 1419.05 838 1.7 0.6 32.5 146 1,314 818 1,035 20.6 5.3 5 15 19.11 975 6.31.7 32.4 139 1,315 769 1,005 22.2 5.1   6A 16 19.29 2000 5.9 1.5 36.7147 1,468 926 1,165 25.5 5.9   6B — 19.31 2000 5.4 1.3 36.8 143 1,464971 1,190 26.6 5.8 Glue Laminated Finished product - Physical Properties(pt. 2) Table Perf Finch Modulus Roll Compress TMI Ply Modulus Modulus23 Tensile CD GM Diameter Value Bond MD CD mm-gm/ mm-gm/ Description refg/3 in, g/3 in. gms/% in % g g/% g/% mm² mm² 1 11 377 90 94 5.06 21.99.0 58 153 1.65 0.28 2 12 412 116 100 5.13 21.2 7.5 55 182 1.60 0.32 313 336 92 81 5.13 26.5 8.8 50 130 1.27 0.25 4 14 448 130 100 4.95 22.68.0 64 156 1.55 0.31 5 15 397 108 94 4.98 27.8 11.1 60 150 1.62 0.29  6A 16 441 101 95 4.91 22.5 15.3 57 158 1.96 0.40   6B — 421 106 975.04 28.4 14.6 56 168 2.04 0.42

TABLE 14A Construction data for HVS9/knurl prototypes w/Basesheet data.8 Sheet Basis Caliper Weight MD MD Tensile Stretch Tensile CD Wet GMBreak Converting PM mils/ lb/3000 Tensile Stretch CD CD GM Tens FinchModulus Sample Cell cell Description 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. % g/3in. Cured g/3 in. g/%  6-1 1 1 0110-6  46.9 11.1 365 28.8 280 4.5 320 2629 37-1 1 6 0110-36 57.7 12.1 407 35.0 361 5.3 383 49 29  7-1 1 10110-7  47.4 11.3 369 28.7 294 4.6 329 27 29 152.0 34.5 1141 30.8 9354.8 1031 102 29 12-1 2 2 0110-11 56.0 12.7 335 29.9 290 4.5 311 33 2634-1 2 6 0110-33 63.5 13.0 357 38.7 274 5.4 312 30 23 13-1 2 2 0110-1252.2 12.3 326 29.1 250 5.3 285 34 22 171.7 37.9 1018 32.6 815 5.1 908 9624 17-1 3   3A 0110-16 46.9 10.9 417 30.3 341 5.0 376 49 31 29-1 3 50110-28 62.8 11.8 453 30.4 363 4.4 405 45 35 18-1 3   3A 0110-17 45.810.5 382 29.3 301 5.2 338 43 27 155.4 33.2 1252 30.0 1005 4.9 1119 13731 21-1 4   3B 0110-20 45.8 11.0 475 31.3 344 5.0 404 59 32 25-1 4 40110-24 63.8 12.3 708 30.0 374 4.1 514 47 46 22-1 4   3B 0110-21 45.810.5 393 29.9 311 6.2 350 59 24 155.3 33.7 1576 30.4 1029 5.1 1268 16534 41-1 5 7 0110-40 41.6 10.8 365 27.9 274 5.2 316 42 27 28-1 5 40110-27 65.8 13.0 734 29.3 419 4.2 554 72 49 42-1 5 7 0110-41 41.2 10.8363 30.4 284 5.3 321 39 25 148.6 34.6 1462 29.2 977 4.9 1191 153 34162.9 1097 733 893 115 48-1 6 8 0110-47 46.1 12.7 606 31.3 357 5.2 46545 37 36-1 6 6 0110-35 63.7 13.6 390 35.3 312 5.0 345 43 27 49-1 6 80110-48 45.7 12.5 484 28.1 293 5.6 376 38 31 155.4 38.8 1480 31.6 9625.3 1186 126 32 170.4 1110 721 890 94 56-1 7 9 0216-7  46.3 12.6 40430.9 336 5.3 368 35 29 66-1 7 10  0216-16 66.6 12.7 323 36.9 238 5.8 2776 19 57-1 7 9 0216-8  47.6 12.5 477 32.7 362 5.2 415 35 31 160.5 37.91203 33.5 936 5.4 1060 75 26 58-1 8 9 0216-9  46.0 12.5 442 30.5 331 4.9382 39 32 63-1 8 6 0216-13 64.8 12.5 390 35.8 332 5.8 359 45 24 59-1 8 90216-10 46.8 12.7 451 31.0 369 5.0 408 39 34 157.6 37.7 1284 32.4 10325.2 1149 124 30

TABLE 14B Finished product composition for HVS 9 Knurl Products. EUCAPMPSBHK SBSK NBSK Euc Kraft CMF 1 22 17 17 21 21 0 2 22 17 17 22 22 0 3 490 0 28 16 7.1 4 49 0 0 28 16 7.0 5 33 0 0 30 31 6.0 6 0 32 32 15 16 5.57 0 32 32 0 28 7.0 8 0 32 32 0 28 7.1

TABLE 14C HVS9/knurl finished product Physical Properties (pt. 1) BasisCaliper Table Wet Abrasion Lint Weight 8 Sheet Tensile Tensile StretchStretch 23 Softness Dispersibility Tissue Black felt lb/3000 mils/8 MDGM MD CD Description desc. Panel # of Shakes mm² Unitless ft² Sheet g/3in. g/3 in. g/3 in. % 5-1 17 20.02 875 66 2.4 34.3 154 910 599 18.1 4.85-2 18 20.36 1000 22 5.0 35.1 160 762 505 17.8 5.1 5-3 19 19.84 850 181.1 31.0 146 1,008 583 17.4 5.2 5-4 20 19.79 1450 3 0.7 32.1 148 1,230740 18.4 5.0 5-5 21 19.56 1025 10 2.0 32.7 143 1,225 645 18.7 5.0 5-6 2219.79 2000 8 1.9 36.7 148 1,292 705 21.5 5.6 5-7 23 20.10 2000 13 3.835.8 150 918 679 20.3 5.1 5-8 24 20.08 2000 11 2.7 35.0 150 946 718 18.95.0 HVS9/knurl finished product Physical Properties (pt. 2) Wet TensBreak Roll TMI Break Break TEA TEA Table Perf- Finch Modulus RollCompress Ply Modulus Modulus MD CD 23 Tensile CD GM Diameter Value BondMD CD mm-g/ mm-g/ Description desc. g/3 in. g/3 in. g/% in % g g/% g/%mm² mm² 5-1 17 389 72 80 4.96 21 7.9 51.7 124.6 1.02 0.19 5-2 18 354 7364 4.83 23 5.7 43.1 94.3 0.86 0.17 5-3 19 343 100 80 5.00 24 3.2 57.3112.1 1.03 0.20 5-4 20 456 126 100 5.04 23 4.4 67.4 148.0 1.31 0.24 5-521 431 100 93 4.92 22 6.8 66.5 130.1 1.28 0.21 5-6 22 518 99 87 5.03 248.7 60.5 125.3 1.51 0.26 5-7 23 358 68 78 4.91 20 6.9 45.6 132.4 1.130.22 5-8 24 352 89 85 5.07 25 7.7 49.9 146.4 1.07 0.23

TABLE 14D Converting parameters Sheet Length 4.09″ Sheet Width 4.05″ #1#2 #3 Lower Unwind Unwind Unwind Emboss Lower Mach. Cell Base Base BasePattern Converting Emboss Feedroll Speed No. Sheet Sheet Sheet # ProcessDepth Calender FPM 1 110-6 110-36 110-7 300-107.1 3 ply HVS 0.090 open130 2  110-12 110-33  110-11 300-107.1 3 ply HVS 0.090 open 130 8 216-10 216-13 216-9 300-107.1 3 ply HVS 0.090 open 130 6  110-48 110-35 110-47 300-107.1 3 ply HVS 0.090 open 130 3 0110-17 0110-28  0110-16300-107.1 3 ply HVS 0.090 open 130 4 0110-21 0110-24  0110-30 300-107.13 ply HVS 0.090 open 130 5 0110-41 0110-27  0110-40 300-107.1 3 ply HVS0.090 open 130 7 216-8 216-16 216-7 300-107.1 3 ply HVS 0.090 open 130Unwind Unwind Unwind Plybond Finished Cell Tension Tension Tension AirDraw Winding Sheet Roll No. #1 #2 #3 Pressure Tension Tension CountDiameter 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 23 psi float 0.8 200 4.92 2 0.5 0.5 0.5 23 psifloat 0.6 176 4.84 8 0.5 0.5 0.5 23 psi float 0.5 200 4.94 6 0.5 0.5 0.523 psi float 0.7 200 4.90 3 0.5 0.5 0.5 23 psi float 0.8 200 4.89 4 0.50.5 0.5 23 psi float 0.9 200 4.95 5 0.5 0.5 0.5 23 psi float 0.8 2004.89 7 0.5 0.5 0.5 23 psi float 0.7 200 4.92

TABLE 15 Physical Properties of two-ply, high-bulk tissue with Tembecbirch APMP (pt. 1). Caliper Basis 8 Sheet Weight MD MD CD CD GM CD WetTens mils/ lb/3000 Tensile Stretch Tensile Stretch Tensile Finch Cured-Description 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. % g/3 in. g/3 in. 0302-2 62 14.1879 28.1 595 5.1 723 172 0302-3 64 14.5 988 30.3 546 5.4 734 163 0302-488 19.9 868 28.1 587 5.0 714 154 0302-5 84 19.7 884 28.4 701 5.0 786 183Physical Properties of two-ply, high-bulk tissue with Tembec birch APMP(pt. 2). GM CD MD CD MD Break SAT SAT SAT TEA TEA Break Break ModulusCapacity Rate Time mm-gm/ mm-gm/ Modulus Modulus Description gms/% g/m²g/s^(0.5) s mm² mm² gms/% gms/% 0302-2 61 337 0.0613 124.9 0.21 0.96 11732 0302-3 58 350 0.0667 112.6 0.21 1.12 102 33 0302-4 58 548 0.1047141.4 0.20 1.01 109 31 0302-5 63 532 0.1043 146.6 0.25 1.03 137 29

TABLE 16 Overall Composition of 3 Ply prototypes* using Tembec BirchAPMP for bulky inner layer. Mar. NBSK VCP Euc CMF Birch APMP 1 32% 7%10% 51% 2 23% 5% 7% 65%

TABLE 17 Physical Properties of 3 Ply prototypes* using Tembec BirchAPMP for bulky inner layer (pt. 1). Basis Caliper 8 Tensile TensileTensile Stretch Stretch Wet Tens Softness Lint Black Weight Sheet mils/MD CD GM MD CD Finch CD Description Panel Felt Unitless lb/3000 ft² 8sht g/3 in. g/3 in. g/3 in. % % g/3 in. 1 19.7 0.4 27.0 131 1,141 696888 17.0 5.1 193 2 20.0 −0.1 37.7 174 1,143 713 899 18.7 4.7 192Physical Properties of 3 Ply prototypes using Tembec Birch APMP forbulky inner layer (pt. 2). Break Brtness Opacity Roll TMI Break BreakTEA TEA Modulus MacBeth MacBeth Roll Compress Ply Modulus Modulus MD CDGM UV-C Opacity Diameter Value Bond MD CD mm-gm/ mm-gm/ Descriptiongms/% % Units in % g gms/% gms/% mm² mm² 1 95.0 85.9 78.5 4.6 22.3 0.564.3 141.0 1.0 0.2 2 97.3 84.9 84.2 5.2 22.8 0.6 62.0 154.4 1.1 0.2

Summary of Results

Table 12 illustrates several rather surprising results in that three-plybath tissues incorporating eucalyptus APMP exceeded Quilted NorthernUltra Plush® caliper without unduly degrading softness. This isconsidered quite surprising for a bath tissue comprising such largequantities of high yield pulp.

Even with products with excellent resistance to pilling, linting andshredding, it was possible to achieve softness panel ratings greaterthan 19, while reducing wet lint up to 96% versus Charmin® Ultra Strong.It can also be observed that in those products comprising rather smallamounts of CMF, even further reductions in wet lint values wereobtained. This was especially true of sheets containing CMF at 6 to 7%of furnish, wherein the CMF was concentrated in the surface strata ofthe outer plies by stratification without CMF in the inner ply. This isconsidered especially significant as, currently, CMF is substantiallymore expensive than most papermaking fibers, so it is particularlyimportant both to reduce the amount needed and to obtain the easilyperceptible benefit of the CMF. Products without CMF, however,particularly, those made with glue lamination, exhibited reduced wetlint relative to products where the plies were joined by knurling, thusmaking it possible to achieve excellent results without the use of CMF.

It is clear that applicants have succeeded in manufacturing a bathtissue that is usable prewetted, yet fully achieves a softness that isnot merely comparable to premium and super premium bath tissue, but isat full parity and is arguably even softer, although, the improvement ismost likely not significant enough to be noticed reliably by most users.This is a dramatic reversal of previous wet strength bath tissues inwhich it was hoped that the deficit in softness was not large enough tobe reliably noticeable by most users. The softness panel rating of 20.1achieved with furnish comprising 7% pilot CMF, 65% southern softwoodkraft, and 28% eucalyptus kraft is considered to be landmark improvementin wet strength bath tissue.

High basis-weight CWP prototypes comprising less than 30% southern pinewith large amounts of eucalyptus APMP were fully dispersible, passingthe test described above in under 1500 shakes. Surprisingly, highbasis-weight CWP product with an excess of 30% southern pine did notpass the dispersibility test after 2000 shakes as, despite appearingdisintegrated, the slurry did not drain with the requisite speed. Itappears that dispersibility may be helped by the inclusion of short,eucalyptus APMP fibers relative to longer southern pine kraft fibers.

Between comparable prototypes, products having plies joined by knurlinghad a slight edge in softness over glue laminated prototypes.

As expected, however, CWP products were at a disadvantage to thoseproducts produced by creping a nascent web at 30 to 60% consistency offof a transfer cylinder.

Two-ply bath tissue made with a furnish including tembec birch APMPachieved a softness rating of 20 at 176 mil/8 sheet caliper, exhibitingconsiderable dusting along with knurled ply bonding, which was poor,suggesting that mechanical hardwood APMP other than eucalyptus mayachieve a similar bulk result as eucalyptus if used in the interior plyof a three-ply product, but is likely rather weak for use in theexterior plies.

These results, however, also demonstrate that the current best practicefor making soft tissue does not optimize the properties of tissues to beused wet. In particular, the current best practice for dry tissue usesabout ⅓ northern softwood kraft and ⅔ eucalyptus kraft with the softwoodproviding network integrity, while the eucalyptus provides smoothnessand opacity. When a stratified headbox is available, in a refinement ofthis approach, the eucalyptus is stratified in the Yankee side of thesheet and spray softeners are applied up to about the limit at whichthey begin to interfere with creping. The stronger air layer withsoftwood provides strength, while the eucalyptus layer becomes verysmooth and velvety, but, as mentioned, not only can spray softeners actas release agents interfering with effective creping of the sheet, andthus, interfering with realization of the full softness potential of thesheet, but surfaces comprised of 100% eucalyptus kraft often haveincreased tendency to shed lint. Thus, it can be appreciated that apremium softness wet or dry bath tissue product does not necessarilyresult from merely adding temporary wet strength agents to traditionalpremium bath tissue products intended for dry use.

A different strategy is needed for wet-durable tissue to reduce thelinting tendency for both dry and wet use. CMF and northern softwood areincorporated in the Yankee layer, while a temporary wet strength agentis concentrated in the Yankee layer, to provide durability. Thus, theYankee layer provides wet tensile and surface strength to reducepilling. The air layer contains integrated furnish that is debonded, asmuch as tolerable, with little or no temporary wet strength, as shown inthe representative tissue structure of FIG. 4. In this approach toproviding a premium softness wet or dry bath tissue, the outer plies arestratified with softness and integrity, providing premium fibers in theYankee layer and lower cost furnish in the air layer, to provide bulkand overall strength. The middle ply is homogeneously formed APMP andsoftwood kraft. Alternatively, the middle ply can be made withintegrated furnish, such as southern kraft. The middle ply is crepedwith a relatively closed pocket to create bulk through coarser crepe anduncalendered to preserve the bulk adding by the coarse creping. In thisapproach, stratification to provide a strong coherent Yankee layer oflow weight with a debonded air layer combine to produce a finely creped,but coherent facial tissue on the surface.

Table 12 summarizes CWP prototype properties made using the generalstrategy shown in FIG. 4, with the exception of prototypes 3 to 7.

Product 18 is an example of using integrated furnish to lower costthrough cheaper and bulkier fiber, while maintaining softness. The 176count roll has a 4.83 inch diameter and a 23% roll compression.Alternatively, basis weight can be taken out of the 160 caliper productto keep 200 sheets, as in, for example, the 31 lb/ream Product 19.

Product 24 is a CMF containing prototype, offsetting the high cost CMFin the Yankee stratum, by low cost integrated furnish away from thesurface, to produce a tissue achieving an extremely high softness ratingof 20 when tested by a trained softness panel. Product 24 is made withan outer ply comprising a 6.7 lb/ream Yankee layer with 20% pilot CMFand 80% eucalyptus kraft, with the remaining 6 lb/ream air layer beingmade with 50% southern softwood kraft and 50% southern hardwood kraft.The middle ply is an uncalendered sheet with 50% southern softwood and50% southern hardwood kraft, the finished product content nets out toonly 7% CMF, 28% eucalyptus kraft, and 65% southern kraft for a productthat is potentially economically feasible in view of the benefitsresulting from the use of the CMF.

FIGS. 5 and 5A show plots of softness versus wet lint with the bubblesize representing CD wet tensile. Softness greater than 19 was achievedfor most CWP prototypes, whether glue laminated or knurled. Wet lint wasvery low and wet tensile was generally less than the P3403G product, butgreater than Charmin® Ultra Strong (69 g/3 in. CDWT). Many prototypesexhibited a highly desirable combination of softness, low lint, anddurability. It can also be appreciated that prototypes with CMF haveless wet lint than comparable prototypes with only wood pulp. Prototypeswith just wood pulp, however, have substantially reduced lint relativeto other retail products, so they may provide the most economical way ofdelivering low lint.

Another comparison to highlight is the lower wet lint achieved with gluelamination relative to knurling, particularly, in products without CMF.One of the knurled products had higher lint attributable to the surfaceply failing, while other knurled products were both soft and durable.The difference between these two products was a higher basis weight andstrength in the product that did not fail. While all glued products hadlow lint, most knurled prototypes performed nearly as well.

FIG. 6 compares the dispersibility of previous FRBC prototypes withcurrent CWP. Many CWP products have both dispersibility and low lint,while others fail dispersibility, despite being less durable than FRFCprototypes. This difference between FRBC and CWP can be explained mostlyby basis weight, but the data also suggest a fiber compositioncontribution. CWP prototypes with a value of 2000 shakes were terminatedwithout passing. The samples were observed to be largely disintegrated,but too floccy to pass the small bottle opening in 8 seconds per theprocedure. Higher softwood contents will increase the flocciness of thedisintegrated tissue, and this effect was often seen when the productwas made with a middle ply with 50% southern pine. On the other hand,sheets with more eucalyptus APMP exhibited satisfactory dispersability.Minimizing softwood content, particularly southern pine, can benefitdispersibility, particularly in high basis weight tissue with moredurability. Desirably, softwood content will be kept to less than about40%, more preferably, to less than about 35%, still more preferably,between about 20% and about 35%, and most preferably, to between about25% and about 35%.

FIG. 7 shows that embossing with pattern HVS 9 (FIGS. 30, 30-1, 30-2,30-A to 30-H and 30-J), then ply bonding by knurling, resulted in softerproduct on similar sheets than embossing with pattern U 19 (FIGS. 29,29A-29F, 29H and 29T) glue. The HVS 9 microemboss reduced basesheettensile on the order of 25%, while there was almost no tensile breakdownwith the emboss penetration used in U 19.

FIGS. 8 and 9 compare the attribute of bath tissue made using FRBCtechnology to tissue made using CWP. In particular, while both FRFC andFRBC clearly have striking advantages in terms of bulk generation (FIG.8), the difference in softness is considerably less substantial (FIG.9).

Referring back to Table 12, Products 1 and 2 are early prototypes thatused birch APMP for the bulky inner layer. It appears that other APMPhardwood pulps can be substituted for eucalyptus APMP in the interiorplies of three-ply products to provide the bulk benefit of theeucalyptus APMP. The sheets, however, are weak and subject toconsiderable dusting, suggesting that they are not all that desirablefor exterior plies.

In contrast, the preceding Examples demonstrate that low cost eucalyptusAPMP furnish can be incorporated into premium three-ply bath tissuewithout sacrificing softness or the attributes of quality while addingbulk. Three-ply CWP can be an acceptable format for a premium qualitywet or dry bath tissue. As shown below, Table 18 sets forth an overviewof the product data for the CWP products, along with their basesheetdata. Cells 1 to 3 provide high durable, medium durable, and lessdurable CWP products, respectively, with no CMF added. Cells 4 and 5provide less durable and high durable CWP products, respectively, with20% CMF added. Finally, Cells 6 to 8 provide high bulk CWP products with33%, 50%, and 60% APMP incorporated therein.

TABLE 18 Product data for low-weight CWP durable product. Basesheetdata. 8 Sheet Basis Caliper Weight MD MD CD CD GM CD Wet GM Break Mils/Lb/300 Tensile Stretch Tensile Stretch Tensile Tensile Cured ModulusCell Roll ID 8 sht ft² g/3 in. % g/3 in. % g/3 in. g/3 in. gms/% 11130-4  High 27.0 9.2 1259 31.3 870 4.7 1045 171 87 1130-5  durable 27.39.2 1112 31.9 712 4.4 888 149 75 1130-6  No CMF 27.8 8.8 1330 33.2 8594.4 1067 127 87 2 1130-7  Med 29.5 9.6 1092 33.0 562 4.0 782 90 671130-8  durable 29.1 9.7 990 32.4 665 4.6 811 92 71 1130-9  No CMF 27.08.9 1091 34.8 575 4.7 791 99 61 3 1130-16 Less 31.7 9.1 461 31.1 380 5.2418 49 32 1130-17 durable 32.7 9.9 632 34.3 494 5.2 559 64 43 1130-18 NoCMF 30.8 9.2 572 31.6 392 4.9 471 64 38 4 1130-20 Less 30.1 9.2 972 33.3509 6.1 703 70 47 1130-21 durable 30.8 9.5 1029 33.5 506 6.6 721 71 451130-22 20% CMF 29.5 9.1 852 33.1 501 6.4 653 58 48 5 1130-24 High 29.69.6 1201 34.9 705 5.6 920 118 72 1130-25 durable 28.5 9.3 1198 32.3 6256.4 865 115 58 1130-26 20% CMF 26.1 8.4 889 30.3 550 6.1 699 126 51 64905-57 High bulk 52.1 13.1 379 27.6 301 5.1 337 36 29 4905-58 33% APMP48.5 12.6 409 25.9 298 4.8 348 31 32 4905-59 49.2 12.9 391 27.7 306 5.7345 31 27 7 4905-60 High bulk 61.4 16.1 460 28.5 381 5.3 417 36 354905-61 50% APMP 61.5 15.9 492 28.0 339 5.1 408 39 33 8 4905-62 Highbulk 81.7 20.3 508 26.6 434 5.0 469 38 41 4905-63 60% APMP 80.1 20.6 63328.0 459 5.3 539 40 45

Example 2

Four different fiber variants of eucalyptus pre-conditioning refinerchemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (P-RC APMP) (“APMP”) having abrightness of 85 to 88 ISO, bulk between 2.0 and 3.9 cm³/g and breakinglength between 1.4 and 4.0 km. as set forth in Table 19.

TABLE 19 Summary of trial pulp blends P3 High P4 High P5 P6 StrengthStrength High Bulk High Bulk Optical Brightness, UV-C 87.7 88.6 85.185.0 L* 97.6 97.8 97.0 96.8 a* −2.1 −1.9 −2.0 −1.8 b* 4.9 4.5 5.7 5.5Whiteness 71.8 73.9 66.3 66.8 Opacity 82.8 82.0 83.1 85.2 Morphology Ln,mm 0.38 0.37 0.37 0.36 Lw, mm 0.71 0.67 0.71 0.69 Lz, mm 0.92 0.83 0.960.95 Coarseness, mg/100 m 10.7 9.5 12.4 10.6 Fines(w), % 11.6 11.2 11.612.1 Curl Index(w) 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 Shives, % 1.6 0.4 6.1 1.9Handsheets Tensile, km 2.9 3.9 0.9 1.4 Bulk. cc/a 2.5 2.0 3.9 3.4 OtherKappa 148 155 135 148 Fiber Charge, meq/100 g −9.7 −14.0 −11.9 −10.1Total Charge, meq/100 g −26.1 −25.7 −19.6 −19.5 Freeness, ml 534 422 594492

Preliminarily, a variety of handsheets using the fiber variants alongwith more conventional papermaking fibers were produced as set forth inTable 20 as follows:

TABLE 20 Conditions for TAPPI handsheets with trial pulps (P3-P6) CellDIP SSWK SHWK P3 P4 P5 P6 Amres ®, lb/t CMC, lb/t 1 100 2 100 12 3 10030 8 4 80 20 5 60 40 6 100 7 80 20 8 60 40 9 100 10 20 11 40 12 100 1380 20 0 14 80 20 12 15 80 20 30 16 80 20 30 17 60 40 0 18 60 40 12 19 6040 30 20 100 21 60 40 22 60 40 12 23 60 40 30 8 24 48 32 20 25 36 24 4026 48 32 20 0 27 48 32 20 12 28 48 32 20 30 29 48 32 20 30 30 36 24 40 031 36 24 40 12 32 36 24 40 30 33 48 32 20 34 36 24 40 35 48 32 20 36 3624 40 DIP = deinked wet lap from recycle paper; CMC =carboxymethylcellulose, AmRes ® = Amres ® HP100 high solids polyamidewet strength resin

Based on the results obtained with the handsheets, tissue was producedon a pilot scale, CWP paper machine using the four different variants(P3, P4, P5, P6) along with conventional tissue making fibers.Surprisingly, basesheet for bath tissue produced with eucalyptus APMPachieved parity to commercially produced basesheet for bath tissue usinga furnish of 60% deinked recycled pulp (“DIP”) and 40% virgin pulp.

A variety of prototypes was produced, as set forth in Table 21 asfollows:

TABLE 21 Pilot Paper Machine Trial Cells Cell Product FRF SSWK SHWEucaly P3 P4 P5 P6 Amres ® CMC 4 Towel 60 40 10 5 Towel 48 32 20 20 6Towel 36 24 40 20  6A Towel 36 24 40 10 10  Towel 60 40 10 11  Towel 4832 20 10 12  Towel 36 24 40 20  12A Towel 36 24 40 30 1 Bath Tissue 6040 2 Bath Tissue 48 32 20 3 Bath Tissue 54 36 10  3B Bath Tissue 48 3220 7 Bath Tissue 40 60 8 Bath Tissue 36 54 10 9 Bath Tissue 32 48 20 13 Towel 60 40 20 4 14  Towel 48 32 20 20 15  Towel 48 32 20 30 16  Towel36 24 40 30 FRF = deinked wet lap from recycled paper

Discussion of Results

One unique characteristic of APMP pulping is the ability to manipulatefiber properties by adjusting the chemical application and refiningenergy as set forth above. This is different than kraft pulping in whichthe finished fiber properties are essentially set by the wood source andpulping and bleaching technology. The ability to manipulate the fiberproperties is both a challenge and an opportunity. The opportunity in aproduction setting is to allow significant fine tuning of the fiberproperties and balancing the energy and chemical costs.

In FIG. 10, there is plotted the relationship between energy andfreeness for the five alkalinity levels run in the trial. The expectedrelationship within each alkalinity level is seen where freenessdecreases with increasing refining energy. The freeness also decreaseswith increasing alkalinity level. A range of alkalinity and energylevels can be selected to achieve the target freeness level.

In FIG. 11, there is plotted the freeness bulk relationships. There isno single bulk freeness relationship, but rather, the bulk is a functionof the alkalinity level. High alkalinity results in lower bulk.

FIG. 12 shows the relationship between freeness and tensile index.Again, alkalinity has a significant impact on strength at a givenfreeness level.

Freeness and bulk are a function of both total alkalinity and refiningenergy. Increasing the alkalinity will result in higher tensilestrength, lower bulk and lower freeness at a given energy level. Neitheralkalinity nor refining energy, however, impact the fundamental bulk andstrength relationship. In FIG. 13 is plotted a bulk tensile curve forAPMP and kraft eucalyptus pulps. The alkalinity curves for each pulpwere plotted and the bulk and breaking length at 300, 400 and 500 mlsfreeness were calculated. A similar calculation was completed for fivemarket kraft eucalyptus pulps. APMP has a much steeper slope than kraft,and APMP pulp has significantly higher bulk than kraft pulp at lowbreaking length. Note the relatively flat slope of the kraft pulps. Thecurves intersect at about 6.5 km and 1.5 cm³/g, suggesting that there islittle difference between the pulps at very high strength level.

Brightness Development

Post-refiner brightness ran between 83 and 87 ISO. Good brightnessdevelopment was seen for all runs. On the high alkalinity run, 12,significant peroxide decomposition was seen. High peroxide consumptionis usually due to high metals content of the wood, so chelant additionwas increased for subsequent runs which eliminated the issue. In FIG.14A, the consumption of impregnation chemicals is plotted (peroxide andtotal alkalinity—TA) compared to the peak brightness for the series. Norelationship between impregnation chemicals and brightness is seen forthe range of chemical application in the trial. FIG. 14B shows the postrefiner chemical addition and peak brightness. This graph shows thatpeak brightness development occurred around 7% chemical applied on pulpand not much correlation with alkalinity.

FIG. 15 shows the net total chemical consumed in both impregnation andpost refining, along with the brightness development. This graph showsthere was very little correlation between chemicals consumed andbrightness development. Taken with FIGS. 14A and 14B above, an estimatedperoxide demand for a commercial installation will be between 3.5 and4.5% on pulp. Surprisingly, total alkalinity does not have a significantimpact on brightness and, therefore, can be adjusted to achieve pulpproperties and balance refiner energy—see discussion below.

Based on the apparent refiner brightness ceiling of 87, samples of theP3 pulp were laboratory bleached to establish the absolute brightnessceiling. All bleaches were completed at medium consistency. Theconditions for the laboratory bleaches were:

-   -   1% on pulp NaOH    -   1, 2 and 3% H₂O₂ on pulp    -   0.25% on pulp DTPA    -   85° C.    -   2 hours retention    -   12% consistency.

The lab results are shown in Table 22. All lab bleaches resulted in a 91to 92 MacBeth brightness and showed relatively low peroxide consumptionindicating that 92 is the brightness ceiling for this wood supply.

TABLE 22 Laboratory Bleaching Results Chemicals % Bleach TemperatureRetention Consistency on pulp Final Peroxide Final Number C. Minutes %H₂0₂ NaOH Chelant pH Res W1 Consumed Brightness 1 85 120 12 1 1 0.2510.4 0.18 85% 91.1 2 85 120 12 2 1 0.25 10.3 0.82 67% 92.0 3 85 120 12 31 0.25 10 2.42 35% 92.1Handsheets

FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 show the effect of eucalyptus APMP on opticalproperties of handsheets. In either de-inked or virgin southern furnish,APMP increases brightness and opacity, while being neutral on b*(yellowness) up to 40% APMP. FIG. 19 shows how APMP increases thebulk/strength curve at 20 and 40% addition rates.

FIG. 20 shows that APMP substantially improves handsheet absorbency ofde-inked pulp (FRF), while having less impact on virgin furnish. FIG. 21shows how eucalyptus APMP impacts wet tensile in handsheets.

FIG. 22 shows the impact of 20% eucalyptus APMP on tissue bulk/caliper.Products were measured at constant emboss penetration. APMP increasesbulk about 6% relative to the controls.

FIG. 23 shows that, surprisingly, even 20% APMP does not hurt softness.There is a strong correlation between softness and strength, and it isexpected that bringing the APMP prototype tensiles up to that of thecontrols would result in nearly identical softness values. All trialproduct softness values were above the level of 17, which is indicativeof midgrade tissue product, significantly softer than economy andcommercial grades, but not as soft as premium grades, which wouldnormally score around 19 or higher by softness panels.

FIG. 24 shows key morphology parameters of tissue finished products. 20%APMP has an almost negligible effect on sheet morphology relative to thecontrol. Table 23, below, summarizes the morphology of individual pulpsused to make the products in FIG. 24.

TABLE 23 Morphology of pulps used to make tissue prototypes P3 P5 P6FRF/Euc kraft Southern L_(n), mm (# ave) 0.38 0.37 0.36 0.44 0.33 L_(w),mm (wt. ave) 0.71 0.71 0.69 0.87 1.10 L_(z), mm (L ave) 0.92 0.96 0.951.30 1.75 Coarseness, mg/100 m 10.7 12.4 10.6 8.1 11.4 Fines(w), % 11.611.6 12.1 8.0 17.6 Curl Index(w) 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.10 0.10

FIG. 25 shows that APMP does not increase lint appreciably when adjustedfor strength.

While the invention has been described in connection with numerousexamples and embodiments, modifications to those examples andembodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention will be readilyapparent to those of skill in the art. In view of the foregoingdiscussion, relevant knowledge in the art and references, includingco-pending applications discussed above, the relevant disclosures ofwhich are all incorporated herein by reference in their entireties,further description is deemed unnecessary.

We claim:
 1. A cellulosic tissue comprising: (A) cellulosic fibersselected from the group consisting of (a) chemically pulped fibers and(b) mechanically pulped fibers, wherein the cellulosic fibers include:(i) from about 10% to about 50% by weight eucalyptus fibers having alignin content of at least about 20% by weight; and (ii) from about 3 toabout 10% by weight regenerated cellulosic microfibers; and (B) virginchemically pulped fibers, recycle fiber in an amount of up to 50%,wherein the eucalyptus fiber has been prepared from eucalyptus chips byalkaline peroxide mechanical pulping, exhibiting an ISO brightness of atleast 0.82×(% VCP)+0.795×(% RF)^(0.98)+0.84×(% APMP), and wherein % VCPis the percentage of virgin chemical pulp in the sheet, % RF, thepercentage of recycle fiber, and % alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping(APMP), the percentage of APMP eucalyptus.
 2. The cellulosic tissue ofclaim 1, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have a lignin content of at leastabout 23%, and exhibit an ISO brightness of at least about
 82. 3. Thecellulosic tissue of claim 2, wherein the chemically pulped fibers areselected from a group consisting of hardwood and softwood fibers, andwherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwood fiber in thetissue is at most 30%.
 4. The cellulosic tissue of claim 1, wherein theeucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chips by alkalineperoxide mechanical pulping.
 5. The cellulosic tissue of claim 1,wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chipsby pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanicalpulping.
 6. The cellulosic tissue of claim 1, wherein the eucalyptusfibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chips by pre-conditioningrefiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 7. The cellulosictissue of claim 6, wherein the weight percentage of the chemicallypulped fibers in the tissue is at most 30%.
 8. The cellulosic tissue ofclaim 7, wherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwoodfibers in the tissue is at most 30%.
 9. The cellulosic tissue of claim 8wherein the tissue exhibits a machine direction (MD) stretch of betweenabout 20% and about 30%.
 10. The cellulosic tissue of claim 1, whereinthe chemically pulped fibers are selected from a group consisting ofhardwood and softwood fibers, and wherein the weight percentage ofchemically pulped softwood fibers in the tissue is at most 30%.
 11. Amethod of manufacturing a tissue product selected from the groupconsisting of bath tissue and facial tissue, wherein a furnishcomprising cellulosic fibers is deposited on a translating foraminoussupport and is thereafter dewatered and dried, the method comprising: astep of providing a cellulosic furnish comprising from 50% to 90%cellulosic papermaking fibers selected from the group consisting of (a)chemically pulped fibers and (b) mechanically pulped fibers, wherein thecellulosic fibers include: (i) from about 3% to about 30% by weight ofregenerated cellulosic microfibers; and (ii) from about 10% to about 50%high lignin eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about20%, an ISO brightness of at least about 84, a Canadian StandardFreeness (CSF) of at least about 400 ml, a bulk of between 2.2 and 4.2cc/g, and a breaking length of between about 1.2 and 4.7 km.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the tissue exhibits a machine direction (MD)stretch of between about 20% and about 30%.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the chemically pulped fibers are selected from a groupconsisting of hardwood and softwood fibers, and wherein the weightpercentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers in the tissue is at most30%.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have beenprepared from eucalyptus chips by alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.15. The method of claim 11, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have beenprepared from eucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refiner chemicalalkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 16. A cellulosic tissuecomprising: from 50% to 90% cellulosic papermaking fibers selected fromthe group consisting of chemically pulped fibers and mechanically pulpedfibers, wherein the cellulosic fibers have from about 5% to about 50%high lignin eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about23%, an ISO brightness of at least about 83, a Canadian StandardFreeness (CSF) of at least about 400 ml, a bulk of between 2.2 and 4.2cc/g, and a breaking length of between about 1.2 and about 4.7 km. 17.The cellulosic tissue of claim 16, wherein the tissue exhibits a machinedirection (MD) stretch of between about 20% and about 30%.
 18. Thecellulosic tissue of claim 16, wherein the chemically pulped fibers areselected from a group consisting of hardwood and softwood fibers, andwherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers inthe tissue is at most 30%.
 19. The cellulosic tissue of claim 16,wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chipsby alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 20. The cellulosic tissue ofclaim 16, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared fromeucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping.
 21. A cellulosic tissue comprising: from 50% to 90%cellulosic papermaking fibers selected from the group consisting ofchemically pulped fibers and mechanically pulped fibers, wherein thecellulosic fibers have from about 3% to about 30% by weight regeneratedcellulosic microfibers, and from about 10% to about 50% high lignineucalyptus fibers having a Kappa number of at least about
 150. 22. Thecellulosic tissue of claim 21, wherein the tissue exhibits a machinedirection (MD) stretch of between about 20% and about 30%.
 23. Thecellulosic tissue of claim 21, wherein the chemically pulped fibers areselected from a group consisting of hardwood and softwood fibers, andwherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers inthe tissue is at most 30%.
 24. A cellulosic tissue comprising: about 40%to about 70% recycle fiber; up to about 40% eucalyptus kraft fiber; fromabout 3% to about 30% by weight regenerated cellulosic microfibers; andabout 15% to about 30% high lignin eucalyptus fibers having a lignincontent of at least about 20%, wherein the tissue has a basis weight offrom about 10 to about 17 lbs per ply per 3000 sq ft ream, a specificgeometric mean tensile of between about 35 and 45 g/3 in. per pound ofbasis weight and a specific eight sheet caliper of between about 3 toabout 3.5 mils per ply per eight sheets per pound of basis weight. 25.The cellulosic tissue of claim 24, wherein the tissue exhibits a machinedirection (MD) stretch of between about 20% and about 30%.
 26. Thecellulosic tissue of claim 24, wherein the chemically pulped fibers areselected from a group consisting of hardwood and softwood fibers, andwherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers inthe tissue is at most 30%.
 27. The cellulosic tissue of claim 24,wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chipsby alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 28. The cellulosic tissue ofclaim 24, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared fromeucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping.
 29. A cellulosic tissue comprising: about 25% toabout 40% softwood kraft fiber; from about 40 to about 60% hardwoodkraft fiber; from about 3% to about 10% by weight of regeneratedcellulosic microfiber; and about 15% to about 30% high lignin eucalyptusfibers having a lignin content of at least about 20%, wherein the tissuehas a basis weight of from about 11 to about 17 per ply lbs per 3000 sqft ream, a specific geometric mean tensile of between about 35 and 45g/3 in. per pound of basis weight and a specific eight sheet caliper ofbetween about 3 to about 3.5 mils per eight sheets per pound of basisweight.
 30. The cellulosic tissue of claim 29, wherein the tissueexhibits a machine direction (MD) stretch of between about 20% and about30%.
 31. The cellulosic tissue of claim 30, wherein the weightpercentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers in the tissue is at most30%.
 32. The cellulosic tissue of claim 30, wherein the eucalyptusfibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chips by alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping.
 33. The cellulosic tissue of claim 30, wherein theeucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chips bypre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.34. A cellulosic tissue comprising: from at least about 10% to about 90%by weight of recycled pulp fibers; and from about 10% to about 40% byweight of never-dried alkaline peroxide bleached eucalyptus fibershaving a coarseness of at least about 9.0 mg/100 m, a Kappa number of atleast about 80 and an ISO brightness of at least about 82, wherein thecellulosic tissue has a geometric mean breaking modulus of at most about75 g/%, a basis weight of least about 22 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream and anMD stretch of at least about 11%.
 35. The cellulosic tissue of claim 34,wherein the tissue exhibits a machine direction (MD) stretch of betweenabout 20% and about 30%.
 36. The cellulosic tissue of claim 35, whereinthe chemically pulped fibers are selected from a group consisting ofhardwood and softwood fibers, and wherein the weight percentage ofchemically pulped softwood fibers in the tissue is at most 30%.
 37. Thecellulosic tissue of claim 36, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have beenprepared from eucalyptus chips by alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.38. The cellulosic tissue of claim 34, wherein the eucalyptus fibershave been prepared from eucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refinerchemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 39. The cellulosic tissueof claim 34, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared fromeucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping.
 40. A roll of bath tissue comprising: (A) cellulosicfibers selected from the group consisting of (a) chemically pulpedfibers and (b) mechanically pulped fibers, wherein (i) not more than 30%by weight of the tissue is chemically pulped softwood fibers, (ii) thecellulosic fibers have from about 10% to about 50% by weight eucalyptusfibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% by weight, (iii)the cellulosic fibers have from about 3% to about 10% by weightregenerated cellulosic microfibers, and (iv) the tissue exhibits amachine direction (MD) stretch of between about 20% and about 30%; and(B) virgin chemically pulped fibers, recycle fiber in an amount of up to50%, wherein the eucalyptus fiber has been prepared from eucalyptuschips by alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping, exhibiting an ISObrightness of at least 0.82×(% VCP)+0.795×(% RF)^(0.98)+0.84×(% APMP),and wherein % VCP is the percentage of virgin chemical pulp in thesheet, % RF, the percentage of recycle fiber, and % alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping (APMP), the percentage of APMP eucalyptus.
 41. Theroll of bath tissue of claim 40, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have alignin content of at least 21% by weight.
 42. The roll of bath tissue ofclaim 40, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have a lignin content of atleast 23% by weight.
 43. The roll of bath tissue of claim 42, whereinthe eucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chips byalkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 44. The roll of bath tissue ofclaim 43, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared fromeucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping.
 45. A three-ply bath tissue product comprising: (a)an upper stratified ply comprising two strata, an outer stratum and aninner stratum, (i) the outer stratum comprising a blend of at leastabout 30% to about 70% kraft fiber and at least 30% to about 70% byweight of eucalyptus kraft and having a basis weight of at least about 5to about 12 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream; and (ii) the inner stratumcomprising at least about 50% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin contentof at least about 20% by weight and a basis weight of at least about 2.0lbs per 3000 sq ft ream; (b) an interior ply having a basis weight of atleast about 6 to about 15 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, the interior plycomprising: (i) at least about 30% to about 70% eucalyptus fibers havinga lignin content of at least about 20% by weight; and (ii) from at leastabout 30% to about 70% by weight of bleached softwood kraft fibers; and(c) a lower stratified ply comprising two strata, a first stratum and asecond stratum, (i) the first stratum comprising from at least about 30%to about 70% kraft fiber and from about 30% to about 70% by weight ofeucalyptus kraft and having a basis weight of about 5 to about 12 lbsper 3000 sq ft ream; and (ii) the second stratum comprising at leastabout 50% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about20% by weight and a basis weight of at least about 2.0 lbs per 3000 sqft ream.
 46. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45, wherein thetissue exhibits a machine direction (MD) stretch of between about 20%and about 30%.
 47. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45,wherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers inthe tissue is at most 30%.
 48. The three-ply bath tissue product ofclaim 45, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared fromeucalyptus chips by alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 49. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 45, wherein the eucalyptus fibershave been prepared from eucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refinerchemical alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.
 50. The three-ply bathtissue product of claim 49, wherein the interior ply and the upperstratified ply have been joined by being embossed together.
 51. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 49, wherein the fibrouscomposition of the upper stratified ply is substantially the same asthat of the fibrous composition of the lower stratified ply.
 52. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 49, wherein the depth of embossof the lower stratified ply is less than 80% of the depth of emboss ofthe upper stratified ply.
 53. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim49, wherein the depth of emboss of the lower stratified ply is less than50% of the depth of emboss of the upper stratified ply.
 54. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 49, wherein the lower stratifiedply is generally unembossed.
 55. The three-ply bath tissue product ofclaim 45, wherein the fibrous composition of the upper stratified ply issubstantially the same as that of the fibrous composition of the lowerstratified ply.
 56. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45,wherein the outer stratum of the upper stratified ply further comprisesat least about 5% by weight of individualized regenerated cellulosicmicrofiber having a diameter of at most about 5 microns and passing ascreen of about 14 mesh.
 57. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim45, wherein the outer stratum of the upper stratified ply furthercomprises at least about 5% by weight of individualized regeneratedcellulosic microfiber having a number average diameter of at most about4 microns and a number average length of between about 50 microns andabout 2000 microns.
 58. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45,wherein the outer stratum of the upper stratified ply comprises at leastabout 8% by weight of individualized regenerated cellulosic microfibers.59. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45, wherein the outerstratum of the upper stratified ply comprises at least about 8% byweight of individualized regenerated cellulosic microfibers having anumber average diameter of at most about 2 microns.
 60. The three-plybath tissue product of claim 59, wherein the outer stratum of the upperstratified ply further comprises at least about 10% by weight ofindividualized regenerated cellulosic microfibers having a numberaverage diameter of at most about 4 microns and a number average lengthof between about 50 microns and 2000 microns.
 61. The three-ply bathtissue product of claim 60, wherein the outer stratum of the upperstratified ply comprises at least about 8% by weight of individualizedregenerated cellulosic microfiber having a number average diameter of atmost about 2 microns.
 62. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45,wherein the outer stratum of the upper stratified ply further comprisesat least about 10% by weight of individualized regenerated cellulosicmicrofibers having a number average diameter of at most about 2 micronsand a number average length of between about 50 microns and about 2000microns.
 63. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45, wherein theouter stratum of the upper stratified ply comprises at least about 5% byweight of individualized regenerated cellulosic microfibers having anumber average diameter of at most about 1 micron.
 64. The three-plybath tissue product of claim 45, wherein the outer stratum of each ofthe upper stratified ply and the lower stratified ply further comprisesat least about 5% by weight of individualized regenerated cellulosicmicrofibers having a number average diameter of at most about 4 micronsand a number average length of between about 50 microns and about 2000microns.
 65. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 45, wherein eachof the inner stratum of the upper stratified ply and the second stratumof the lower stratified ply comprises at least about 70% eucalyptusfibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% by weight.
 66. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 45, wherein each of the innerstratum of the upper stratified ply and the second stratum of the lowerstratified ply comprises debonder.
 67. The three-ply bath tissue productof claim 45, wherein the interior ply exhibits a bulk at least 3%greater than that of the exterior plies.
 68. The three-ply bath tissueproduct of claim 67, wherein the interior ply is uncalendered.
 69. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 67, wherein the interior plyexhibits percent crepe at least 3% greater than that of the exteriorplies.
 70. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 67, wherein theinterior ply comprises an amount of alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping(APMP) eucalyptus that is at least about 10% greater, based on theweight of the ply, than the amount of alkaline peroxide mechanicalpulping (APMP) eucalyptus in the exterior plies.
 71. A three-ply bathtissue product having: (a) an upper stratified ply comprising twostrata, an outer stratum and an inner stratum, (i) the outer stratumcomprising a blend of at least about 30% to about 70% kraft fiber and atleast 30% to about 70% by weight of eucalyptus kraft and at least about5% by weight of individualized regenerated cellulosic microfibers havinga number average diameter of at most about 4 microns and a numberaverage length of between about 50 microns and about 2000 microns, theouter stratum having a basis weight of at least about 5 to about 12 lbsper 3000 sq ft ream; and (ii) the inner stratum comprising at leastabout 70% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin content of at least about20% by weight and a basis weight of at least about 2.0 lbs per 3000 sqft ream; (b) an interior ply having a basis weight of at least about 6to about 15 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream, the interior ply comprising: (i) atleast about 40% to about 90% eucalyptus fibers having a lignin contentof at least about 20% by weight; and (ii) from at least about 10% toabout 60% by weight of bleached kraft fiber; and (c) a lower stratifiedply comprising two strata, a first stratum and a second stratum, (i) thefirst stratum comprising from at least about 30% to about 70% kraftfiber and from about 30% to about 70% by weight of eucalyptus kraft andhaving a basis weight of about 5 to about 12 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream;and (ii) the second stratum comprising at least about 70% eucalyptusfibers having a lignin content of at least about 20% by weight and abasis weight of at least about 2.0 lbs per 3000 sq ft ream.
 72. Thethree-ply bath tissue product of claim 71, wherein the interior ply issubstantially homogeneous in composition.
 73. The three-ply bath tissueproduct of claim 71, wherein the upper stratified ply and the lowerstratified ply have substantially identical fibrous compositions. 74.The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 71, further comprising up toabout 50% recycle fibers, wherein the kraft fiber is virgin fiber, theeucalyptus fibers are alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP)eucalyptus fibers and the outer ply of the three ply bath tissue productexhibits an ISO brightness of the outer ply of at least 0.82×(%VCP)+0.795×(% RF)^(0.98)+0.84×(% APMP), wherein % VCP is the percentageof virgin kraft fiber in the sheet, % RF, the percentage of recyclefiber and % APMP+CMF is the percentage of APMP eucalyptus andregenerated cellulosic microfibers in the outer ply.
 75. The three-plybath tissue product of claim 71, wherein the chemically pulped fibersare selected from a group consisting of hardwood and softwood fibers,and wherein the weight percentage of chemically pulped softwood fiber inthe tissue is at most 30%.
 76. The three-ply bath tissue product ofclaim 71, wherein the eucalyptus fibers in the interior ply have alignin content of at least about 23%, and exhibit an ISO brightness ofat least about
 82. 77. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 71,wherein the tissue exhibits a machine direction (MD) stretch of betweenabout 20% and about 30%.
 78. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim77, wherein the chemically pulped fibers are selected from a groupconsisting of hardwood and softwood fibers, and wherein the weightpercentage of chemically pulped softwood fibers in the tissue is at most30%.
 79. The three-ply bath tissue product of claim 71, wherein theeucalyptus fibers have been prepared from eucalyptus chips by alkalineperoxide mechanical pulping.
 80. The three-ply bath tissue product ofclaim 71, wherein the eucalyptus fibers have been prepared fromeucalyptus chips by pre-conditioning refiner chemical alkaline peroxidemechanical pulping.